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Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2008  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/bradfordmapcityoOOandrrich 


One  hundred  and  forty-two  copies  printed  on 
plate  paper  and  ten  copies  on  Japan  paper. 


THE    BRADFORD   MAP 


The  Bradford  OVlap 

THE  CITY  OF  NEW  YORK 

AT  THE  TIME  OF  THE  GRANTING  OF 

THE  MONTGOMERIE  CHARTER 

A  DESCRIPTION  THEREOF  COMPILED  BY 

WILLIAM    LORING    ANDREWS 

TO  ACCOMPANY  A  FACSIMILE  OF  AN  ACTUAL  SURVEY 

MADE  BY  JAMES  LYNE  AND  PRINTED  BY 

WILLIAM  BRADFORD  IN  I  73  I 


NEW  YORK 

PRINTED  AT  THE  DE  VINNE  PRESS 

1893 


'     >    u     J     J  >    J    J     3  » 

>  J  '  ,  s  )    >  .  J     ■ 


v\ 


v 


Copyright,  1893,  ^^  William  L.  Andrews. 


t    c    reft 


\  Plan  of" (he  Cily  of  Ne\\ 


From  the  Original  Map  in  t 


oRic  from  an  a  dual  w^ll^\e^ 


^. 


Ml. 


n Collection  of  W.  L.  Andrews. 


Size  of  Original,  i8  x  ■ai%  inches. 


PREFACE 

1  HE  primary  purpose  of  the  author  in  issuing  this 
monograph  is  to  place  in  circulation  a  limited  num- 
ber of  reproductions  of  a  few  very  rare  prints  re- 
lating to  the  early  history  of  New  York  —  a  field  in 
which  the  author  began  his  collecting  thirty  years 
ago,  and  to  which  after  many  diversions  he  has  re- 
turned again  and  again  with  renewed  interest. 

It  is  quite  conceivable  that  the  most  ardent  biblio- 
phile might  in  time  grow  weary  of  gathering  Aldines 
and  Elzevirs,  or  even  Fifteeners  and  old  bindings  ; 
but  there  are  certain  kinds  of  books  which  never 
lose  their  attraction  for  those  who  have  once  be- 
come enamoured  of  them.  No  collector  of  early 
English  poetry  was  ever  known  willingly  to  abandon 
his  fascinating  pursuit,  and  it  is  yet  to  be  recorded 
of  an  antiquary  born  within  sound  of  the  bells  of 


IX 


ivil40784 


Treface 

Trinity  Church  that  he  tired  in  his  quest  for  memo- 
rials of  the  city  he  loved.  The  fact  that  the  game 
he  seeks  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  to  run  to  earth 
only  serves  to  incite  his  thirst  and  make  the  chase 
more  eager  and  exciting. 

Although  no  copies  of  the  Bradford  and  Duyckinck 
maps  and  of  the  prints  of  Castle  William  and  the 
Middle  Dutch  Church  beyond  those  mentioned  in 
this  book  have  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  au- 
thor during  many  years  of  careful  research,  it  is  of 
course  possible  (but  in  his  opinion  improbable)  that 
other  copies  will  hereafter  be  discovered.  There 
have  been  and  will  be  many  false  alarms,  however, 
especially  in  relation  to  the  Bradford  Map,  "original" 
copies  of  which  appear  with  considerable  regularity 
from  time  to  time. 


CONTENTS 


Chapter  I 


INTRODUCTION 


PAGE 

'9 


Chapter  II 

THE  CITY  AND  ITS  INHABITANTS  IN  173 1 


27 


Chapter  III 

THE  PRINCIPAL  LANDMARKS  OF  THE  CITY  IN  1 73 1       .     73 


Chapter  IV 


CONCLUSION 


97 


XI 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Artotypes 


View  of  New  York,  by  William  Burgis 

Frontispiece 

The  Bradford  Map          .... 

opposite  page    ix 

Castle  William  in  Boston  Harbor 

"          "      21 

Fort  Nieuw  Amsterdam   .... 

-      23 

New  Amsterdam  in  1650 

"         "      24 

Allegorical  Design          .... 

"      38 

Wall  Street  about  1830    . 

"      57 

The  New  York  Gazette 

"      76 

St.  Paul's  Church      .... 

"      79 

The  Middle  Dutch  Church 

'<         "      88 

The  Federal  Edifice    .... 

"      92 

In  the  Text 


New  Amsterdam 

Seal  of  New  Netherland 


'9 

22 


XIII 


Illustrations 

PACE 

Amsterdam,  Holland  .         .         .         .         .         .         -23 

Dutch  Weight 25 

Fort  George,  New  York    .  .         .         .         -27 

Farm-house  on  Broadway        ......         29 

Trinity  Church  as  enlarged        .         .         .         .         .         -30 

Arms  of  John  Harpending         ......         32 

Broad  Street  and  Exchange  Place       .         .         .         .         -33 

Broadway,  near  Grace  Church        .....         35 

Plan  of  the  City  in  1789  .......     36 

City  Hall  Park     ........         39 

Public  Stage-coach  .......     40 

Beekman  Family  Coach  ......         43 

Lispenard's  Meadows  .......     45 

De  Peyster  Mansion        .......         46 

Hell  Gate         .........     49 

A  Fire  in  New  York  in  i  73  i 54 

Assembly  Ticket        .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .61 

A  Fine  Long  Queue         .......         65 

My  Lady's  Head-dress        .......     67 

Fraunces  Tavern  .         .         .     *    .         .         .         .         .         70 

Section  of  Iron  Railing      .         .         .         .         .         .         -71 

Southwest  View  or  the  City  .....         73 

Governor's  House  and  Church  in  the  Fort  .         -78 

Trinity  Church,  Second  Edifice        .         .         .         .         .         81 

"Old  South"  Church  in  Garden  Street      .         .         .         .82 

xiv 


Illustrations 


Garden  Street  Church,  Second  Edifice     . 

Le  Temple  du  Saint  Esprit 

Middle  Dutch  Church  as  Post-office 

Presbyterian  Meeting  House  in  Wall  Street 

Stadthuys  in  Coenties  Slip 

Old  City  Hall  in  Wall  Street  . 

Government  House  .... 

City  Hall  in  the  Park        .... 

Broadway  and  Fulton  Street 

Royal  Exchange        ..... 

New  York  from  Governor's  Island 

Father  Knickerbocker        .... 

Flag  of  Dutch  West  India  Company 


83 
85 
87 
88 
90 

9' 
92 

93 
94 
95 
97 

lOI 

104 


A:*tS«'^ 


XV 


Still  wert  thou  lovely,  whatsoe'er  thj>  name, 
New  Amsterdam,  New  Orange,  or  New  York, 
IVbetber  in  cradle  sleep,  on  sea-weed  laid, 
Or  on  thy  island  throne  in  queenly  power  arrayed. 

MRS.  S/GOURNEY. 


Let  us  satisfy  our  eyes 
JVith  the  Memorials  and  the  things  of  fame 
That  do  renown  the  City. 


.'■^'Bto^ 


uis  it  appeared  about  the  year  1640,  while  under  the  Dutch  Government. 


THE   BRADFORD  MAP 


CHAPTER  I 


INTRODUCTION 

V^F  all  the  maps  and  views  illustrating  the  early 
history  of  the  city  of  New  York,  none  surpass  in 
interest  or  exceed  in  rarity  the  "Survey"  made  by 
James  Lyne,  and  printed  and  published  by  William 
Bradford  in  1731.  Only  two  impressions  from  the 
original  copperplate,  so  far  as  known,  exist.  One, 
the  gift  of  John  Pintard  in  1807  to  the  institution 
of  which  he  was  one  of  the  founders,  is  in  the  collec- 
tion of  the  New  York  Historical  Society.  This  copy, 
unfortunately,  is  not  in  good  condition.  It  was 
mounted  on  a  stretcher  and  covered  with  a  heavy 

19 


The  "Bradford  O^ap 

coat  of  varnish  many  years  ago,  and  the  paper,  which 
is  of  an  inferior  quality,  is  cracked  and  discolored. 
The  other  impression  is  in  a  better  state  of  preserva- 
tion. It  may  be  called  literally  an  uncut  copy  of  the 
Map,  as  the  rough  edges  of  the  sheet  upon  which  it 
was  printed  remain  intact.  The  only  marks  that  the 
flight  of  time  has  left  upon  it  are  one  or  two  small 
perforations  and  some  breaks  in  the  folds  of  the  paper, 
but  they  have  been  skilfully  repaired  by  that  adept  in 
the  art  of  restoring  decayed  and  injured  prints,  George 
Trent.  In  every  other  respect  it  is  in  the  same  con- 
dition as  when  it  came  from  the  rude,  old-fashioned 
press  of  William  Bradford. 

In  this  piece  of  copperplate  engraving  no  feature  is 
lacking  to  render  it  an  acquisition  of  the  first  impor- 
tance to  every  collector  of  Americana.  It  is  one  of 
the  earliest  examples  of  the  art  of  engraving  executed 
in  New  York,  and  without  doubt  it  is  the  first  map 
printed  here ;  it  relates  to  the  chief  city  on  the  con- 
tinent, and  it  is  of  the  utmost  rarity.  What  more 
could  the  most  fastidious  collector  demand  ? 

This  Map,  the  print  of  the  Middle  Dutch  Church 
engraved  by  William  Burgis  at  about  the  same  period, 
the  view  of  "  t'  Fort  nieuw  Amfterdam  op  de  Man- 
hatans"  which  is  found  in  the  "  Befchrijvinghe  Van 
Virginia,"  etc.,  published  in  Amsterdam  in  1 65 1 ,  and 
the  view  of  "Nieuw  Amsterdam"  in  Adriaen  vander 
Donck's  "  Nieuw-Nederlant,"  1656,  are  the  corner- 
stones of  a  collection  of  prints  relating  to  New  York 

20 


From  the  Original  Print  in  the  Collection  of  W.  L.  Andrews. 


The  Bradford  {Map 

history.  The  books  containing  the  two  last  named 
prints  are  still  occasionally  to  be  found,  but  the  others 
were  separate  engravings,  and  consequently  were 
more  exposed  to  the  hap  and  hazard  of  time.  Their 
all  but  total  disappearance  is  therefore  not  so  much  a 
matter  of  surprise.* 

The  Bradford  Map  and  the  Middle  Dutch  Church 
print  were  stumbled  upon  by  the  writer  thirty  years 
ago  in  a  book-hunting  tour  which  he  has  ever  since 
regarded  as  an  exceptionally  successful  one.  They 
were  found  preserved  in  an  old  scrap-book,  which 
contained  in  addition  a  "  View  of  Castle  William  by 
Boston  in  New  England,"  a  contemporaneous  print 
of  equal  if  not  greater  rarity.  All  three  are  among 
the  very  earliest  specimens  of  American  copperplate 
engraving.  Prints  of  the  Revolutionary  epoch  from 
the  hands  of  our  own  engravers  have  become  of  in- 
frequent occurrence,  but  these  prints  antedate  them 

*In  1755,  a  map  of  New  York  city  was  published  by  Gerardus 
Duyckinck,  which  Du  Simitiere,  writing  in  1768,  asserts  to  be  the 
Bradford  Map  with  additions  and  alterations;  and  its  general  ap- 
pearance certainly  gives  color  to  this  statement.  If  it  be  true 
that  Duyckinck  obtained  possession  of  the  Bradford  plate,  pieced 
it,  and  reengraved  portions  of  it,  the  scarcity  of  the  impressions 
from  the  original  engraving  is  readily  explained.  Curiously 
enough,  according  to  Du  Simitiere,  the  Duyckinck  map  itself  al- 
most immediately  after  its  publication  became  exceedingly  difficult 
to  obtain.  The  only  copy  now  known  to  exist  is  the  one  in  the 
New  York  Historical  Society,  and  it  certainly  is  a  curious  piece 
of  patchwork. 

21 


The  "Bradford  (Map 


by  half  a  century.  It  was  by  a  narrow  chance  that 
these  interesting  and  historically  important  pictorial 
records  of  our  city  escaped  complete  destruction. 

In  all  these  years  no  third  copy  of  the  Map  or 
of  the   Burgis  print  and  no  duplicate  of  the  View 

of  Castle  William  have 
been  brought  to  light. 
The  second  impression 
of  the  engraving  of  the 
Dutch  Church,  from 
which  reduced  copies 
were  made  for  Valen- 
tine's History  of  New 
York  and  other  publica- 
tions, is  or  was  in  the 
SEAL  OP  NEW  NETHERLAND,  ,623.     pos^gssion  of  a  Rcv.  Mr. 

Strong,  of  Newtown,  Long  Island.  No  reproduction 
the  size  of  the  original  appears  to  have  been  made. 

The  survey  of  James  Lyne  presents  a  view  of  New 
York  as  it  appeared  after  little  more  than  a  century 
of  growth  ;  for,  although  the  river  which  bears  the 
name  of  Hudson  was  explored  by  its  discoverer  in 
1609,  and  a  small  trading-post  had  been  erected  at 
Fort  Nassau  on  Castle  Island,  near  Albany,  in  1614, 
it  was  not  until  the  year  1626*  that  a  colony  was 
permanently  established  on  Manhattan  Island  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Dutch  West  India  Company.    On 

*The  city  was  not  incorporated  under  the  name  of  New  Amster- 
dam until  1652  ;  it  was  laid  out  in  streets  in  1656. 

22 


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May  6  of  that  year  the  first  real-estate  transaction  on 
the  Island  of  Manhattan,  and  one  involving  the 
largest  transfer  of  property  ever  made,  was  con- 
summated. Governor  Peter  Minuit,  representing  the 
company,  purchased  for  "their  account  and  risk"  the 
entire  island  from  its  aboriginal  owners,  giving  in  ex- 
change for  this  wide  domain  a  quantity  of  beads, 


buttons,  and  other  trinkets  valued  at  sixty  gulden 
($24).  The  amount  of  land  secured  for  this  paltry 
sum  was  estimated  by  Minuit  at  22,000  acres. 

The  unsophisticated  red  men  appear  to  have  been 
mightily  contented  with  their  share  in  this  transac- 
tion. There  still  remained  in  their  undisputed  con- 
trol a  continent  of  primeval  forest,  the  depths  of 
which  they  had  but  partially  explored.    Ignorant  and 


23 


The  Bradford  Map 

careless  of  the  value  or  extent  of  their  possessions, 
they  willingly  bartered  away  their  woods  and  streams 
for  a  few  trumpery  articles  of  personal  adornment. 
It  mattered  not  to  them  if  they  pitched  their  wig- 
wams and  lighted  their  council-fires  a  few  steps 
nearer  to  the  setting  sun.  There  was  land  enough 
and  to  spare  for  the  pale-face,  especially  as  the  Indians 
believed  that,  while  parting  with  the  soil,  they  re- 
tained the  right  to  fish  and  hunt  upon  it.  This 
belief  on  their  part  led  later  to  serious  results. 

The  wily  Dutch  governor  must  have  laughed  in  his 
sleeve  as  he  clinched  this  one-sided  bargain  with  a 
flagon  of  the  "mad  waters" — that  is  to  say,  good  old 
Dutch  schnapps  —  which  tradition  declares  he  found 
to  be  a  potent  factor  in  his  dealings  with  the  Indians 
and  of  special  service  in  expediting  this  impor- 
tant negotiation.  The  very  name  of  the  island  is  a 
perpetual  reminder  of  the  unrestrained  conviviality  of 
this  occasion.  Manhattan  —  i.  e.,  Manahachtanienks, 
a  reveling  name  importing  "the  place  where  they  all 
got  drunk" — was  then  and  there  bestowed  upon  it  by 
the  Indians  in  commemoration  of  this  great  meeting. 

The  directors  of  the  Dutch  West  India  Company 
were  not  uninformed  as  to  the  value  of  their  proposed 
purchase.  Hendrick  Hudson,  on  his  return  to  Holland 
seventeen  years  before,  had  reported  that  he  found  it 
"  a  very  good  land  to  live  in  and  a  pleasant  land  to 
see,"  and  the  politic  and  energetic  Minuit  was  de- 
spatched to  secure  possession  of  this  desirable  domain 

24 


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The  'Bradford  OVlap 


on  the  best  terms  he  could  negotiate.  There  is  no 
reason  to  believe  that  the  directors  ever  complained 
that  he  paid  an 
exorbitant  price 
for  the  rocks, 
swamps,  and 
pools  of  Manna- 
hatta.  During 
the  eight  years 
following,  ac- 
cording to  the 
returns  made  to 
Holland  by  the 
Company,  they 
received  from  the 
colony  more  than 
50,000  beaver- 
and  6000  otter- 
skins  of  the  value 
of  over  525,000 

gulden.  If  purchased  from  the  Indians,  as  Irving 
assures  us  they  were,  by  Dutch  weight,  the  Dutch- 
man's hand  being  deemed  the  equivalent  of  one 
pound  and  his  foot  of  two,  there  must  have  been 
a  considerable  profit  in  the  business  they  transacted 
in  furs.  Nevertheless,  through  official  mismanage- 
ment of  the  affairs  of  the  province,  the  stockholders 
of  the  Company  found  themselves  in  the  long  run 
decidedly  out  of  pocket. 

4  25 


DUTCH  WEIGHT. 


Snug  houses  and  neat  stoops,  where  friends  would  often  meet, 

The  men  with  pipes,  cock'd  hats,  and  fine  long  queues, 

The  girls  with  white  short  gowns,  stuff  petticoats,  and  high-heel  shoes, 

And  knitting  at  the  side  and  fingers  going, 

And  now  and  then  a  tender  glance  bestowing. 


SOUTH-WEST  VIEW  OF  FORT  GEORGE,  WITH  THE  CITY  OF  NEW  YORK. 


CHAPTER  II 


THE   CITY   AND   ITS  INHABITANTS   IN    1 73 1 


w. 


E  are  surprised  to  find  as  we  unfold  our  Map 
that  the  city  of  New  York  so  late  as  1731  was 
confined  within  such  narrow  limits,  and  that  so  few 
were  the  steps  that  had  as  yet  been  taken  in  that 
triumphant  march  of  material  progress  which  has 
brought  the  metropolis  of  the  New  World  to  its 
present  pinnacle  of  power  and  greatness.  It  was, 
indeed,  a  day  of  small  things,  a  town  of  less  than 
1500  houses  and  9000  inhabitants,  on  the  outskirts 
of  which  the  echo  of  the  Indian's  warwhoop  had 


27 


The  Bradford  Ch/lap 

hardly  yet  died  away.  Broadway,  for  years  the  pride 
of  every  Knickerbocker's  heart  until  its  glory  was 
overshadowed  and  its  prestige  eclipsed  by  that  of 
Fifth  Avenue,  was  one  hundred  and  sixty  years  ago  a 
common  country  road.  In  the  place  of  lofty  ware- 
houses filled  with  costly  merchandise,  high  banks  of 
clay  skirted  its  sides.  Farm-houses  were  scattered 
here  and  there  along  its  length,  and  on  that  portion 
of  it  where  St.  Paul's  Church  now  stands  fields  of 
wheat  were  growing  in  rank  luxuriance.* 

Unlike  the  Quaker  City  of  Philadelphia,  laid  out 
in  the  beginning  with  rectangular  streets  crossing 
each  other  at  prescribed  distances  with  mathematical 
precision^  the  streets  of  New  York  were  left  largely 

*Census  of  New  York  City  and  County,  November  2d,  1731. 
Henry  Beekman,  Sheriff. 
White  males,  above  ten  years, 2628 


"  females,  " 

"  males,  under 

"  females,  " 

Black  males,  above 

"  females,   " 

"  males,  under 

"  females,   " 


2250 
1143 
1024 

599 
607 

186 

J85 

8622 


Total  population  of  the  entire  province  : 

Whites, 50,242 

Biaci<s, 7,202 

57,444 


The  Bradford  Map 

to  their  own  devices.  Cow-paths  and  lovers'  walks 
are  responsible  for  the  location  and  devious  windings 
of  some,  while  others  "meandered  of  their  own 
sweet  will  in  green  suburban  groves,"  or  followed 
lazily  the  indentations  of  the  shore.  Pearl  Street  (then 
called  Queen,  in  __ 

honor  of  Queen 
Anne)  was  the 
first  roadway 
above  the  water- 
line  on  the  East 
River,  and  no 
street  running 
north  and  south 
except  a  section 
of  Church  had  as 
yet  been  laid  out 
west  of  Broad- 
way. From  Old  Wind-mill  Lane,  just  above  Crown 
Street,  now  Liberty,  the  green  fields  of  the  **  King's 
Farm"*  stretched  in  an  unbroken  expanse  north- 
ward and  westward  to  the  banks  of  the  Hudson, 
and  from  the  steps  of  old  Trinity  Church  no  build- 
ing obstructed  the  delightful  view  of  the  "Great 
River"  f  flowing  clear  and  sparkling  in  the  sunshine, 
its  waters  unvexed  by  the  furrow  of  any  keel  save 

*  Trinity  Church  property,  granted  to  the  corporation  in  1705 
by  Lord  Cornbury,  who  reserved  a  quit-rent  of  three  shillings, 
t  Groote  Rieviere  de  Montaines. 

29 


FARM-HOUSE  ON  BROADWAY. 


The  'Bradford  OAap 


that  of  an   occasional   leisurely-going   clump-built 

Albany  sloop. 

Wandering  through  the  streets  of  New  York  in 

1 73 1 ,  names  unfamiliar  to  its  present  denizens  would 

have  met  the  way- 
farer's eye  at  every 
turn.  The  English 
conquerors  of  the  city 
had  almost  entirely 
obliterated  the  Dutch 
street  nomenclature, 
and  from  time  to 
time  thereafter  they 
altered  names  to  suit 
dynastic  changes  in 
the  mother  country. 
The  close  of  the 
Revolutionary  War, 
with  its  successful 
abolishment  of  kingly 
rule,  speedily  brought 
about  a  general  re- 
christening  of  every 
street    in   the   name 

of  which  there  was  any  suggestion  of  royalty. 
Pearl  Street  (Paerl  Straat),  the  crooked  street  of 

New  York,  which  grievously  perplexes  the  pedestrian 

by  beginning  and  ending  on  Broadway,  was  variously 

known  in  1657  as  the  Smiths'  Valley,  the  Hoogh 

80 


TRINITY  CHURCH   AS  ENLARGED,   I  737. 


The  Bradford  ^ap 

Straat,  the  Waal  (or  sheet  piled)  Street,  and  the  Wa- 
terside. In  1 69 1  the  lower  portion  was  called  Dock 
Street.  Some  years  later  that  part  above  Hanover 
Square  became  known  as  Queen  Street,  a  title  it  re- 
tained as  late  as  1789.  But  the  present  Cedar  Street 
also  bore  that  name,  and  to  avoid  confusion  these 
thoroughfares  were  called  respectively  Great  Queen 
Street  and  Little  Queen  Street.  An  open  space  on 
Pearl  Street  in  the  block  bounded  by  Whitehall, 
Moore,  and  Water  Streets  was  in  early  days  known  as 
the  Strand,  and  was  used  as  a  market-place  or  stand 
for  country  wagons.  The  first  church  built  on  Man- 
hattan Island,  erected  in  1633,*  was  a  plain  frame 
building  on  the  north  side  of  Pearl  Street,  between 
Broad  Street  and  Old  Slip.  In  1642  this  old  kirk  was 
abandoned  as  a  place  of  worship,  and  devoted  to 
business  purposes. 

The  upper  part  of  William  Street  was  named  after 
William  Beekman.  From  Maiden  Lane  to  Pearl  Street 
it  was  called  Smith  Street.  In  olden  days  the  lower 
part  was  known  as  Burger's  Path,  and  later  as  The 
Glassmakers'  Street. 

John  Harpending,  the  shoemaker,  who  donated  the 
land  (a  part  of  the  ''Shoemaker's  Pasture")  upon 
which  stood  the  Dutch  Church  at  the  corner  of  Fulton 
and  William  streets,  gave  the  name  to  John  Street. 


*  For  a  number  of  years  previously  religious  meetings  had  been  held 
in  a  loft  above  the  first  horse  mill  erected  on  the  island. 

ai 


The  "Bradford  {Map 

The  descent  from  William  Street  to  Pearl  was  known 

as  Golden  Hill. 

Cliff  Street  ran  through  VanderclifTs  orchard.    On 

the  Bradford  Map  his  name  is  given  to  a  portion  of 

the  present  Gold  Street, 
while  the  appellation  of 
C\\U  Street  is  applied  to 
the  street  next  to  the 
eastward,  which  is  the 
present  Cliff  Street.  Cliff 
Street  intersected  Golden 
Hill,  and  this  fact,  accord- 
ing to  the  annalist  Wat- 
son,    gave    rise    to    its 

ARMS  OF  JOHN  HARPENDING.  *^  ,-a-  >' 

name,  "along  the  cliff. 

Beekman  Slip,  Fair  Street,  Division  Street,  and  Par- 
tition Street  were  the  various  names  by  which  Fulton 
Street  was  known  prior  to  1816. 

Maiden  Lane*  was  called  in  Dutch  "t'Maadge 
Paatge,"  or  the  Maiden's  Path;  and  a  quiet,  secluded 
road  leading  through  the  farm  of  Colonel  Rutgers, 
much  frequented  by  romantically  disposed  couples, 
was  known  as  Love  Lane.  Phlegmatic  as  were  those 
old  Dutch  burghers,  they  were  by  no  means  devoid 
of  sentiment. 

Nassau  Street  was  at  first  known  only  by  the  gas- 
tronomical  designation  of  "  the  road  that  leads  by  the 

*  The  first  settlers  upon  Maiden  Lane  were  ship-carpenters. 

32 


The  Bradford  {Map 


pie-woman's  to  the  City  Commons."     In  173 1  the 
upper  part  was  called  Kip  Street. 

Wall  Street  ("Lang  de  Wal")  marks  the  original 
line  of  the  city's  palisades,  which  were  erected  for  de- 
fense against  foes  from  neighboring  colonies  as  well 
as  from  incursions  by  the  Indians ;  hence  its  name, 
which  has  not 
been  changed 
since  the  year 
1700.  Its  old 
Dutch  title  was 
the  "  Cingel/'  or 
ramparts,  and 
"t'Schaape  Way- 
tie,"  or  the  pub- 
lic sheep-walk, 
extended  from  it 
towards  the  pres- 
ent Exchange  Place.  It  is  currently  reported  that 
Iambs  are  still  to  be  seen  browsing  in  this  vicinity, 
and  that  they  frequently  return  home  badly  fleeced. 

At  the  foot  of  Wall  Street  on  the  East  River  stood 
the  Slave  Market.  The  average  price  for  an  able- 
bodied  negro,  when  the  market  was  not  overstocked 
by  too  frequent  arrivals  from  the  coast  of  Guinea, 
was  $125.  Human  flesh  was  a  cheap  commodity  in 
New  York  in  1731. 

Garden  Street,  previously  known  as  Verleitenberg 
(corrupted  to  Flattenbarrack)  Street,  is  now  Exchange 

5  83 


EAST  SIDE  OF  BROAD   STREET,  CORNER  OF 
EXCHANGE  PLACE,  IN    I780. 


The  Bradford  (Map 

Place.  The  portion  of  it  lying  on  the  declivity  be- 
tween Broadway  and  Broad  Street  was  in  winter  a 
famous  coasting-place  for  the  youth  of  the  town. 
In  the  spring  and  summer  months  the  corner  of 
Exchange  Place  and  Broad  Street  was  frequented  by 
the  Indians,  who  there  manufactured  and  exposed  for 
sale  basket  work,  the  material  for  which  they  had 
brought  in  their  canoes  from  the  interior. 

Whitehall  Street  derives  its  name  from  a  large 
house  built  by  Governor  Thomas  Dongan,  and  named 
Whitehall  after  the  London  palace  of  the  kings  of 
England  from  Henry  VIII.  to  William  III.  In  1659 
this  street  was  known  as  "t'Marckvelt  Steegie,"  or 
path  to  the  Marketfield  (the  present  Bowling  Green). 
The  ruins  of  Dongan's  house  could  be  seen  on  the 
river  front  as  late  as  1769.  They  are  included  in  the 
section  of  the  long  panoramic  view  of  New-York  by 
Burgis  which  is  reproduced  in  this  book. 

Broad  Street,  built  on  the  line  of  a  creek  or  inlet 
which  extended  up  as  far  as  Wall  Street,  was  in 
1657  called  the  ' '  Heeren  Gracht "  (the  principal  canal), 
and  also  the  "Prince  Gracht."  Bridge  Street  (Brugh 
Straat)  crossed  it  by  a  bridge.  State  Street  is  said  to 
have  been  the  first  street  in  the  city  paved  with  stone. 
In  most  of  the  early  streets  the  gutter,  or  "kennel," 
ran  through  the  center. 

Not  even  the  principal  thoroughfare  of  the  city  has 
escaped  mutation  in  its  name,  having  been  called  the 
Breedweg,  the  Heere  Straat,  the  Great  Highway,  the 

34 


The  'Bradford  (Map 


Broad  Waggon  Way,  Great  George  Street,  and  the 
Middle  Road;  but  since  tiie  year  1674  that  part  of 
it  below  Vesey  Street  has  remained  in  undisturbed 
enjoyment  of  its  present  title.  Above  Vesey  Street 
it  was  so  late  as 
1 794*  called  Great 
George  Street.  In 
1707  it  was  first 
paved,  from  Trin- 
ity Church  to 
Maiden  Lane. 

The  Park,  pro- 
bably the  first 
recognized  public       broadway,  near  grace  church,  1828. 

property  on  the  island,  has  been  known  at  various 
periods  as  the  Vlackte,  or  Flat,  the  Plains,  the  Com- 
mons, and  the  Fields.  It  was  ceded  to  the  corpo- 
ration of  the  city  of  New  York  in  1686  by  Governor 
Dongan,  and  has  remained  without  interruption  in 
possession  of  the  city  government  from  that  date  to 
the  present  time.  In  1731  it  was  a  neglected  waste 
covered  with  brush  and  underwood.  It  remained 
uninclosed  from  the  public  highway  for  many  years, 
and  was  used  with  adjacent  unoccupied  lands  prin- 
cipally as  pasturage  for  the  cows  of  the  townspeople. 
Summoned  in  the  early  morning  by  the  blast  of  a 
horn  at  the  garden  gate,  the  cattle  were  collected  by 

*  A  number  of  changes  in  the  names  of  streets  was  ordered 

in  this  year. 
35 


The  "Bradford  OVlap 

the  public  cowherd  and  driven  to  the  Commons, 
guarded  through  the  day,  and  returned  to  their  owners 
at  nightfall.  Portions  of  the  Park  and  its  vicinity  were 
also  used  for  public  executions.  In  1691  Jacob  Leisler 
here  ended  his  life  on  the  scaffold,  and  in  the  imme- 
diate neighborhood  took  place  the  wholesale  burnings 
and  hangings  of  the  unfortunate  creatures  implicated 
in  the  Negro  Plot  of  1 74 1 .  David  Grim's  map  of  1 742 
marks  some  low-lying  ground  near  the  corner  of 
Pearl  and  Chambers  Streets  as  the  location  where  the 
stakes  were  set  up  and  this  tragedy  enacted ;  the 
gibbet  was  erected  a  little  further  to  the  north.  Grim 
states  that  he  well  remembered  hearing  the  shrieks 
and  cries  of  the  tortured  wretches. 

After  the  vacant  space  in  front  of  the  Fort  was 
inclosed  and  laid  out  as  the  Bowling  Green,  the 
Commons  became  the  favorite,  and  in  fact  the  only 
convenient,  spot  in  the  city  for  bonfires,  illuminations, 
military  exercises,  and  popular  demonstrations  of  all 
kinds.  It  also  served  the  inhabitants  as  a  dumping- 
ground  for  refuse,  as  well  as  a  source  of  supply  of 
earth  and  sod,  the  constant  removal  of  which  it  was 
found  necessary  in  1731  to  prohibit  by  a  city  or- 
dinance forbidding  the  digging  of  any  holes  on  the 
Commons,  or  the  carrying  away  of  "earth,  mould, 
sod,  or  turf." 

The  Bowling  Green  does  not  appear  on  the  Brad- 
ford Map,  as  it  was  not  laid  out  until  March,  1733, 
when  by  a  city  ordinance  it  was  "Resolved,  that  this 

37 


The  "Bradford  {Map 

Corporation  will  lease  a  piece  of  ground  lying  at  the 
lower  end  of  Broadway  fronting  to  the  Fort,  to  some 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  Broadway  in  order  to  be 
inclosed  to  make  a  bowling  green  thereof,  with  walks 
therein  for  the  beauty  and  ornament  of  said  streets, 
as  well  as  for  the  recreation  and  delight  of  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  City,  leaving  the  street  on  each  side 
thereof  fifty  feet  in  breadth,  under  such  covenants 
and  restrictions  as  to  the  court  shall  seem  expedient." 
In  the  succeeding  month  the  Mayor,  Aldermen  Van 
Gelde  and  Philipse,  and  Mr.  De  Peyster,  or  any 
three  of  them,  were  appointed  a  committee  to  lay 
out  the  ground,  and  the  same  was  leased  to  Mr. 
John  Chambers,  Mr.  Peter  Bayard,  and  Mr.  Peter 
Jay  for  the  term  of  eleven  years  for  the  use  afore- 
said, and  not  otherwise,  under  the  annual  rent  of  a 
peppercorn. 

To  the  east  of  the  Park  lay  the  highway  to  Boston 
and  Albany  by  way  of  Kingsbridge — the  only  outlet 
from  the  city  to  the  north.  Over  this  road  ran  once 
a  week  from  March  to  December,  and  fortnightly  in 
winter  (until  Lady  Day),  a  post  making  the  journey 
to  Boston  in  a  week — or  two  weeks,  according  to  the 
weather  and  the  condition  of  the  road. 

The  post  was  carried  to  Albany  in  winter  on  horse- 
back or  on  foot.  New  York  was  in  similar  frequent 
and  rapid  communication  with  Philadelphia,  but  in 
the  quarter  of  a  century  which  followed  the  facilities 
for  intercourse  between  these  cities  increased  so  much 

38 


tTuS 

1 

i 

1 

i 

'"iv   w 

aai|^<i>^» 

[^ 

h^ 

r 

1  f  u8 

IhII 

41 

!iiiiiip«ss^ 


-if 


^W: 


.  'siZntdanddrtnm  by  Chayl,:s  Buxton,  M.  Tiebout,  sculp. 

From  the  Original  Engraving  in  the  Collection  of  W.  L.  Andrews. 


*  *    .   •  »  . 


The  Bradford  (Map 

that  in  the  year  1755  we  read  of  the  establishment 
of  a  bi-weekly  post,  which  arrived  in  Philadelphia  at 
noon  on  the  third  day  after  leaving  New  York,  wind 
and  weather  permitting.  This  appears  to  have  met 
all  the  postal  and  traveling  demands  of  the  public 
until  1774,  when  an  opposition  to  the  "old  slow- 


THE  CITY  HALL  PARK  ABOUT   I  83  I. 


coach,"  as  it  had  come  to  be  contemptuously  styled, 
was  started  with  a  flaming  advertisement  of  "good 
waggons  and  seats  on  springs."  The  new  convey- 
ance was  dubbed  the  "  Flying  Machine,"  and  its  pro- 
moters promised  that  it  should  cover  the  distance 
between  the  two  cities  in  the  unprecedented  time  of 
two  days.  With  what  an  amount  of  incredulity  would 
they  have  received  a  prophecy  that  in  1 892  two  hours 
would  suffice  for  the  journey  ! 


The  "Bradford  OAap 

So  late  as  1807,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  schedule 
below,  it  was  a  day's  journey  from  New  York  to 
Philadelphia,  unless  the  traveler  patronized  the  Mail 
Coach,  which  went  rattling  through  at  the  spanking 
gait  of  six  miles  an  hour. 


A  PUBLIC  STAGE-COACH. 


STAGES  FROM  NEW  YORK  TO  PHILADELPHIA 


Stages 


Mail  Stage 

Mail  Pilot 

Industry 

Diligence 

Commercial 

Swift-Sure 


Starts  at 


i  past  1 2  daily  except  Sunday 
do  do 

8  A.  M.  do 

8  A.  M.  do 

10  A.  M.  do 

10  A.  M.  do 


Arrives 


4  next  morning 

do 
early  next  day 

do 
next  day  afternoon 

do 


Fare 


14  lb.  of  Baggage  allowed  gratis  in  all  the  above  stages. 

150  lb.  will  be  rated  as  a  passenger. 

Baggage  in  the  Swift-Sure  insured  at  i  per  cent. 


40 


The  Bradford  OVIap 

A  road  from  the  Fresh  Water  to  Harlem  was 
provided  by  the  Dutch  in  1658  and  laid  out 
anew  in  1671,  but  seven  years  later  it  is  recorded 
that  a  traveler  from  New  York  bound  for  this  settle- 
ment was  compelled  to  leave  the  Bouwerie  and 
proceed  by  trail  through  the  woods.  In  the  year 
1703  an  attempt  was  made  to  improve  the  continua- 
tion of  this  road  from  about  109th  Street  to  Kings- 
bridge.  Until  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury this  was  the  only  road  that  crossed  the  Harlem 
River,  branching  out  just  beyond  it  into  the  roads 
leading  to  Boston  and  Albany. 

It  is  evident  that  neither  this  one  main  road  nor  the 
few  by-roads  and  leafy  lanes  that  intersected  it  were 
even  in  1731  cared  for  in  the  best  manner,  and  they 
could  have  afforded  but  little  opportunity  for  plea- 
sure-driving. A  private  coach  was  indeed  more  of 
a  luxury  than  a  private  steam-yacht  is  to-day,  and 
in  fact  as  little  of  a  necessity. 

With  one  exception  —  that  of  Colonel  William 
Smith,  Governor  of  Tangiers,  who  brought  his  car- 
riage to  New  York  in  1686  —  no  coach  but  that  of 
the  colonial  governor  had  appeared  in  the  streets  of 
New  York  prior  to  the  year  1700.  A  two-wheel 
chaise  for  one  horse  was  the  most  fashionable  vehi- 
cle, and  one  which  continued  in  general  use  up  to  the 
time  of  the  Revolution.  There  was  no  coach  builder 
in  the  city  until  the  year  1750,  when  James  Hal- 
lett  swung  out  his  sign  of  the  Golden  Wheel  on 

6  41 


The  Bradford  Map 

Golden  Hill,  and  notified  the  town  that  he  was  pre- 
pared to  manufacture  chaise,  chair,  and  kittereen 
boxes  at  most  reasonable  rates  and  with  all  expedi- 
tion. The  chair  referred  to  was  not  a  sedan-chair, 
but  simply  a  small  chaise  without  any  hood.  What 
a  "  kittereen  "  was  we  have  been  unable  to  discover. 
The  first  hackney  coach  was  advertised  in  1696  by 
John  Clap,  who  kept  a  tavern  in  the  Bowery,  near 
9th  Street. 

The  common  mode  of  travel  was  on  horseback, 
the  lady  mounted  on  a  pillion  or  padded  cushion 
fixed  behind  the  saddle  of  her  cavalier  or  servant, 
upon  whose  support  she  was  therefore  dependent. 
This  fashion  was  a  favorite  one  with  the  youthful 
portion  of  the  population,  and  considered  of  great 
assistance  in  match-making.  The  horses,  fat  and 
slow-gaited,  rarely  went  off  a  walk,  and  required 
little  attention  on  the  part  of  the  rider,  who  was  thus 
left  free  to  devote  himself  assiduously  to  the  prosecu- 
tion of  an  affaire  de  cceur  if  so  inclined. 

The  coach,  or  chariot,  as  it  was  called,  of  the  last 
century  was  an  unwieldy  structure,  if  we  may  judge 
from  the  one  represented  in  Burgis's  engraving  of 
the  Middle  Dutch  Church.  It  is  presumably  that  of 
Rip  van  Dam,  to  whom  the  plate  is  inscribed.  It  is 
a  one-seated  vehicle  hung  on  leathern  straps.  The 
negro  coachman  is  clad  in  the  cocked  hat  and  bright 
parti-colored  livery  of  the  day,  and  the  footman,  of 
the  same  ebony  hue,  is  in  equally  gorgeous  array. 

42 


The  Bradford  Map 

When  the  President  of  his  Majesty's  Council  for  the 
Province  of  New  York  sallied  forth,  it  was  with  no 
inconsiderable  amount  of  state,  albeit  with  some  dis- 
comfort, in  his  cumbersome  vehicle  that  rumbled  and 
jolted  over  the  rough  cobblestone  pavements  of  the 
town.     In  this  print  Nassau  Street  is  seen  to  be 


THE  BEEKMAN  FAMILY  COACH. 


paved  with  cobblestones.     Liberty  Street  still   re- 
mained a  natural  country  road. 

'•The  Kolck,  or  Kalchhook,  signifying  in  Dutch  the 
shell  point,  the  Collect,  or  Fresh  Water  Pond,  was 
the  most  striking  geographical  feature  of  the  lower 
part  of  the  island.  In  its  natural  state  it  was  a 
beautiful  lake  of  about  ten  acres  in  extent,  sup- 
posed to  be  of  great  depth,  but  in  reality  not  over 
fifty  feet  in  its  deepest  part.  Fed  by  numerous 
springs,  its  water  was  of  unusual  purity,  and  fur- 


48 


The  Bradford  (Map 

nished  the  inhabitants  with  an  ample  supply  for  all 
domestic  purposes.  The  famous  'tea-water'  pump 
was  erected  over  one  of  the  springs  whence  the 
pond  received  its  crystal  waters.  It  was  situated  in  a 
dell  or  hollow  near  the  present  junction  of  Chatham 
and  Roosevelt  Streets."  The  bridge  which  spanned 
a  brook  at  this  point,  and  another  some  three  miles 
farther  north,  were  the  renowned  "  kissing  bridges," 
at  which  it  was  a  time-honored  custom  for  the  beaux 
to  levy  toll  of  their  fair  companions  when  returning 
from  a  country  excursion. 

At  this  time  the  pond  abounded  in  fish,  and  it  was 
evidently  a  favorite  resort  of  the  pot-hunter  as  well 
as  of  the  true  disciple  of  gentle  Izaak  Walton.  In 
1734  it  was  found  necessary  to  promulgate  a  city 
ordinance  prohibiting  netting  in  the  Fresh  Water, 
or  the  taking  of  any  fish  except  by  angling  with  a 
hook  and  line,  under  a  penalty  of  twenty  shillings 
for  each  offense.  This  is  doubtless  the  first  law 
for  the  preservation  of  fish  enacted  in  the  State  of 
New  York. 

The  natural  outlet  of  the  pond  was  through  a 
brook  called  "Old  Wreck  Brook,"  which  ran  through 
Wolfert's  Meadows  to  the  East  River.  Between 
the  pond  and  the  North  River  a  marsh  extended, 
known  as  Lispenard's  Meadows,  through  which  also 
ran  streams  from  the  pond.  On  these  meadows,  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  present  Greenwich  street,  stood 
Lispenard's  house  and  brewery. 

44 


The  Bradford  (Map 

About  the  yeaF  1805  the  entire  Collect  Pond  was 
filled  in,  after  a  long  debate  as  to  whether  it  should 
not  be  left  with  a  canal  running  through  it.  Perhaps 
there  still  lingered  in  the  community  the  same  differ- 


LISPENARd's  meadows,  canal  street  and  HUDSON  RIVER. 
From  original  drawing  by  Alexander  Anderson. 

ences  of  opinion  that  had  formerly  led  to  the  famous 
dispute  chronicled  by  Washington  Irving  between 
Mynheers  Tenbroek  and  Hardenbrook  about  the  plan 
of  New  Amsterdam  —  the  one  insisting  that  they 
should  run  out  docks  and  wharves,  and  the  other 
that  it  should  be  cut  up  and  intersected  by  canals, 
after  the  manner  of  Old  Amsterdam.  The  grim  and 
gloomy  prison-house  well  named  the  Tombs  now 
occupies  a  portion  of  this  made  ground,  and  probably 
marks  about  the  center  of  the  Fresh  Water. 
The  principal  landmarks  of  the  town  besides  Fort 

45 


The  "Bradford  Map 


George  and  the  buildings  it  inclosed,  and  the  City  Hall 
in  Wall  Street,  were  the  church  buildings,  notably 
the  Old  South  Dutch  Church  in  Garden  Street,  Trin- 
ity Church    on   Broadway,    the    Huguenot  Church 

in  Pine  Street, 
and  the  Middle 
or  New  Dutch 
Church  on  the 
corner  of  Nas- 
sau and  Liberty 
Streets,  then  be- 
ing completed. 
The  quaint  bel- 
fry-crowned or 
pointed  steeples 
of  these  sacred 
edifices  towered 
protectinglyover 
the  lowly  roofs  of  the  inhabitants,  and  their  glisten- 
ing gilt  weathercocks  kept  the  populace  constantly 
informed  as  to  the  quarter  of  the  wind  ;  but  of  town 
clocks  there  were  none  except  the  one  in  the  City 
Hall,  the  gift  of  Etienne  De  Lancey,  and  but  a  few 
shagreen-cased  turtle-shell  or  pinchbeck  watches  were 
to  be  found  in  the  pockets  of  the  people.  Time  was 
not  quite  so  much  a  matter  of  money  then  as  it  is 
now,  and  the  community  was  not  so  careful  to  note 
the  passing  hours.  The  shadow  on  the  door-step 
was  a  sufficiently  accurate  timepiece  for  all  practical 

46 


THE  DE  PEYSTER  MANSION. 


The  Bradford  Map 

purposes; — the  day's  task  was  not  measured  by  an 
eight-  or  ten-hour  rule,  but  by  the  rising  and  going 
down  of  the  sun. 

The  houses  were  two  to  three  stories  in  height 
besides  the  attic;  those  remaining  of  the  Dutch  period 
presented  their  gable-ends  to  the  street.  These  ga- 
bles tapered  to  the  top  by  a  succession  of  steps,  and 
the  pinnacle  was  frequently  surmounted,  like  the 
church  spires,  with  a  weathercock.  The  town,  in 
fact,  bristled  with  weathercocks.  These  picturesque 
features  of  the  city  and  their  accompaniments  — 
double  doors  with  bull's-eye  lights  and  "stoopes" 
with  cozy  side-seats — were  nearly  all  swept  away 
in  the  great  fire  of  1776. 

The  English  style  of  domestic  architecture  was  of 
extreme  simplicity  in  design  and  finish,  its  only  char- 
acteristic feature  being  an  "outlook"  on  the  roof, 
which  was  either  shingled  or  covered  with  slate. 
The  materials  used  in  construction  were  wood,  stone, 
and  brick.  The  latter,  of  a  golden  hue,  are  sup- 
posed to  have  been  imported  at  first  from  Holland 
and  Enghmd  ;  but  the  industry  of  brick-making  was 
at  a  very  early  date  established  in  the  colony.  In 
1742  there  were  six  brick-kilns  in  operation  on  the 
Commons.  Neighboring  forests  yielded  an  abun- 
dance of  fine  oak  and  other  timber ;  good  building- 
stone  was  readily  obtainable  on  the  island  itself,  and 
lime  could  be  manufactured  from  oyster-  and  clam- 
shells.    The  bay  of  New  York  abounded  in  oyster- 

47 


The  'Bradford  OAap 

beds,  which  supplied  the  poorer  portion  of  the  popu- 
lation with  the  greater  part  of  their  means  of  subsis- 
tence for  six  months  in  the  year.  The  beds  were  in 
view  of  the  city,  and  from  the  Battery  hundreds  of 
small  boats  could  be  seen  at  a  time  gathering  the 
succulent  bivalves.  The  value  of  this  product  was 
computed  to  amount  to  ^10,000  or  ;^i2,ooo  per 
annum. 

New  York  at  this  period  gave  slight  promise  of  the 
great  maritime  city  it  was  destined  to  become.  Only 
here  and  there  a  sail  dotted  the  beautiful  bay  now 
thronged  with  vessels  bearing  the  flags  of  all  nations. 
In  1730  but  211  vessels  of  all  descriptions  entered 
the  port  of  New  York,  and  only  222  cleared  from  it 
during  that  year.  The  docking  facilities,  although 
very  limited,  had  been  much  improved  since  the 
occupation  by  the  English,  and  it  will  be  seen  by  the 
Bradford  Map  that  the  wharves  extended  from  White- 
hall Street  to  Beekman  on  the  East  River,  while  on 
the  North  River  there  were  four  docks  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Cortlandt  Street  for  the  accommodation  of 
the  Hudson  River  trade.*  Large  sea-going  vessels 
anchored  in  the  stream,  and  loaded  and  discharged 
their  cargoes  by  means  of  scows  and  small  boats, 

*The  reason  assigned  for  the  fact  that  the  East  Side  was  docked 
out  and  better  built  up  than  the  West  Side,  was  that  winter  fresh- 
ets sometimes  filled  the  Hudson  River  with  ice.  The  first  wharf 
in  the  city  was  built,  it  is  said,  by  Daniel  Litschoe,  a  tavern- 
keeper  on  the  Strand,  foot  of  Broad  Street. 

48 


The  Bradford  zMap 

"Down  East"  and  up  the  Hudson,  on  their  seven 
days'  or  longer  voyage  to  Albany,  sailed  a  gallant  lit- 
tle fleet  of  sloops,  commanded  by  skippers  who  were 
worthy  successors  of  their  hardy  Dutch  progenitors, 
the  "yacht"  sailors,  Goovert  Lockermans,  Jan  Peeck, 
and  Isaac  Kip.  Skilfully  they  navigated  the  danger- 
ous whirlpools  of  the   Helle  Gat  or  the   perilous 


EAST  VIEW  OF  HELL  GATE,  IN  THE  PROVINCE  OF  NEW  YORK. 

waters  of  the  Tappan  Zee,  and  braved  the  thunders 
of  Storm  King  and  Cro'  Nest ;  when  the  tide  did 
not  serve,  going  ashore  for  a  glass  of  buttermilk  or 
cider  and  a  chat  with  the  farmers,  and  religiously, 
in  strict  observance  of  the  old  Dutch  laws  of  naviga- 
tion, dropping  anchor  at  sundown. 

From  up  the  river  these  itinerant  traders  brought 
down  furs  and  country  produce  ;  from  Yankeedom 
whatnots  —  mayhap  wooden  bowls,  and  nutmegs, 

7  49 


The  "Bradford  {Map 

and  counterfeit  wampum  currency.*  These  vessels 
also  carried  passengers,  and  their  departure  was  the 
occasion  of  more  affecting  scenes  than  are  now  wit- 
nessed on  the  dock  of  an  outgoing  transatlantic 
steamer.  The  prospective  voyage  was  a  lengthier 
one,  and  deemed  quite  as  hazardous,  and  a  not  un- 
usual preliminary  before  embarking  on  it  was  the  ex- 
ecution of  a  last  will  and  testament. 

There  were  boats  called  ketches  trading  with  Vir- 
ginia, and  returning  with  cargoes  of  the  fragrant  pro- 
duct of  the  Old  Dominion.  These  coastwise  traders 
were  small  craft,  and  even  those  engaged  in  the 
longer  and  rougher  voyages  to  the  West  Indies  ap- 
pear to  have  been  without  exception  in  the  category 
of  sloops.  An  important  part  of  the  commerce  of 
New  York  was  with  those  Windward  Islands.  From 
the  Barbadoes  were  brought  large  quantities  of  rum, 
sugar,  and  molasses ;  cotton  was  imported  from 
St.  Thomas  and  Surinam,  lime-juice  and  Nicaragua 
wood  from  Cura^oa,  and  logwood  from  the  Bay  of 
Honduras.  Exports  to  the  West  Indies  consisted  of 
pork,  staves,  flour,  and  general  country  produce, 
including  horses  and  sheep.    Oysters,  usually  pickled, 

♦Wampum,  or  white  money,  was  made  from  the  inside  of 
the  shell  of  the  quahaug,  or  hard  clam,  and  was  perforated  and 
strung  together.  Four  beads  for  a  stuyver,  or  two  for  a  cent, 
passed  as  currency  with  the  Indians  for  many  hundred  miles  to 
the  westward  as  well  as  in  the  settlements  on  the  coast.  This 
money  was  counterfeited  in  porcelain. 

so 


7be  'Bradford  {Map 

were  a  current  article  of  export ;  there  is  a  legend, 
perhaps  unworthy  of  belief,  that  quantities  of  fried 
oysters  were  shipped  in  the  firkins  of  fresh  country 
butter  sent  to  the  planters. 

Arrivals  from  England  occurred  generally  in  the 
spring  and  fall  months,  and  were  events  of  great  in- 
terest and  importance.  Ships  from  London  were 
from  four  to  six  weeks,  or  even  more,  upon  the  pas- 
sage. They  came  laden  with  all  kinds  of  manufac- 
tured articles,  household  furniture,  wearing  apparel, 
woolen  and  cotton  goods,*  Turkey  carpets,  and — all 
the  latest  news  and  fashions.  Outward  cargoes  were 
composed  of  naval  stores,  tar,  pitch,  and  turpentine, 
whale-fins,  oil,  and  other  products  of  this  country, 
and  of  sugar,  cotton,  and  logwood  imported  from 
the  West  Indies. t 

In  the  files  of  the  New  York  Gazette  for  this  period 
but  three  clearances  of  vessels  for  Holland  appear, 
and  commerce  with  the  country  which  founded  the 
colony  had  obviously  fallen  into  decay.  Chief  Jus- 
tice Smith,  however,  writing  some  years  later,  states 
that  a  considerable  trade  with  Hamburg  and  Holland 
still  existed  in  duck,  checkered  linen,  oznabrigs, 
cordage,  and  tea.     This  latter  item  was,  according 

*  For  purposes  of  barter  with  the  Indians,  as  well  as  for  the 
colonists'  own  consumption. 

f  In  1728  the  imports  from  Great  Britain  are  stated  to  have 
been  of  the  value  of  _^2 1 ,005  12s.  iid. ,  and  the  exports ^78, 561 
6s.  4d. 

61 


The  Bradford  (Map 

to  that  historian,  a  very  important  one,  as  "our 
people  both  in  town  and  country  have  shamefully 
gone  into  the  habit  of  tea  drinking." 

There  is  one  other  branch  of  the  commerce  of  the 
city  to  which  reference  should  be  made  —  the  im- 
portation of  slaves  from  the  coast  of  Africa  :  a  busi- 
ness considered  strictly  legitimate,  if  not  eminently 
respectable,  and  one  in  which  not  a  small  proportion 
of  the  shipping  interest  was  at  times  very  profitably 
employed.  Occasionally  it  appears  to  have  suffered 
from  over-importation. 

"Slavery  was  at  this  time  an  established  institution 
in  the  colony,  and  the  number  of  slaves  in  a  house- 
hold constituted  a  peculiar  mark  of  easy  circumstances 
in  their  proprietor.  The  wealthier  classes  were  sur- 
rounded and  served  by  a  multitude  of  them,  and 
every  domestic  establishment  was  provided  with  one 
or  more.  The  people  of  New  York,  however,  lived 
in  fear  of  the  ignorant  and  in  many  respects  debased 
population  they  held  in  bondage,  and  which  com- 
posed about  one  sixth  of  the  community,"  The  laws 
relating  to  negroes  and  slaves  were  extremely  rigid. 
No  slave  above  fourteen  years  of  age  was  allowed  to 
be  in  the  streets  south  of  the  Fresh  Water  above  an 
hour  after  sunset,  and  if  so  found  without  a  lantern 
and  lighted  candle,  and  not  in  the  company  of  his 
master  or  owner,  the  slave  might  be  arrested  and 
whipped  and  the  master  fined.  Slaves  were  also 
punished  by  whipping  for  the  slightest  disorderly  con- 

52 


7be  'Bradford  Map 

duct.  This  severity  led,  a  few  years  later,  to  one  of 
the  most  tragic  occurrences  in  the  early  history  of  the 
city.  Upon  evidence,  which  was  afterward  believed 
to  be  grossly  exaggerated,  of  a  concerted  plan  to  de- 
stroy the  town  by  fire  and  massacre  the  inhabitants, 
1 54  negroes  and  20  white  persons  were  arrested  and 
committed  to  prison.  Of  the  negroes  charged  with 
this  conspiracy,  14  were  burned  alive  at  the  stake, 
18  hanged,  and  71  transported.  Four  of  the  white 
persons  implicated,  one  a  Catholic  priest  named  Ury, 
were  also  executed.  So  great  was  the  prejudice 
against  the  negroes  on  this  occasion  that  not  a  single 
lawyer  would  appear  in  court  in  their  defense.  No 
more  somber  page  darkens  the  annals  of  the  city  of 
New  York  than  the  one  which  records  the  history 
of  the  Negro  Plot.  Reason  appears  to  have  been  de- 
throned and  the  dictates  of  humanity  cast  aside  in 
the  momentary  terror  which  seized  upon  the  town. 
The  city  in  1731  had  begun  to  assume  the  ap- 
pearance and  take  to  itself  the  air  of  a  municipality. 
Some  of  the  streets  were  paved  and  were  occasion- 
ally cleaned.*  It  was  lighted  in  a  desultory  sort  of 
way,  and  it  had  a  night  police  force  on  duty  for  a 
portion  of  the  year. 

*  Once  a  week  the  inhabitants  were  obliged  by  law  to  sweep 
the  dirt  in  heaps  before  their  respective  premises,  that  it  might 
be  removed  the  following  day  by  the  city  cartmen,  who  were 
paid  for  this  service  by  the  property-owners.  Broad  Street  was 
at  this  time  the  only  one  cleaned  at  the  public  expense. 

68 


The  'Bradford  Map 

The  city  watch  consisted  of  four  men,  sometimes 
called  bellmen,  or  "  kloppermannen."  They  were 
employed  only  from  the  ist  of  November  to  the 
25th  of  March,  and  their  stipend  was  at  the  most  but 
£\^  each  per  annum,  out  of  which  they  supplied 
their  own  fire  and  light ;  the  lantern,  bell,  and  hour- 


A  FIRE  IN  NEW  YORK  IN  I  7^  I . 
From  the  heading  of  a  Fireman's  Certificate, 

glass  which  they  carried  were  provided  by  the  city. 
The  cost  of  the  entire  force  was  thus  at  the  highest 
only  £^0  per  annum,  and  this  sum  was  reduced  at 
times  as  low  as  ^^36,  or  £<^  per  man.  The  average 
from  1700  to  1740  was  ^44  per  annum. 

If  a  fire  broke  out  at  night  the  nearest  watchman 
would  give  an  alarm  with  his  rattle  and  knock  at  the 
doors  of  houses  in  the  vicinity,  crying,  "  Throw  out 

54 


The  "Bradford  04ap 

your  buckets."  Once  an  hour  through  the  night, 
with  loud  clattering  of  their  kloppers,  they  cried  out 
the  time  and  the  state  of  the  weather.  It  is  not  to 
be  imagined  that  this  periodical  racket  disturbed  the 
profound  slumbers  of  the  inhabitants,  but  rather  that 
through  long  custom  it  had  become  an  accompani- 
ment of  the  night  as  essential  to  their  repose  as  were 
the  rush  and  roar  of  the  Thames  to  that  of  the 
keeper  of  London  Bridge.  In  those  days  night  found 
the  city  wrapped  in  sleep  ;  now  from  dark  to  dawn 
the  beat  of  its  great  throbbing  heart  never  ceases. 

The  measures  taken  for  lighting  the  streets  at 
night  were  of  an  intermittent  character.  The  pro- 
vision made  during  the  winter  season,  on  the  nights 
when  the  economical  lunar  light  was  not  available, 
was  as  follows  :  Every  seventh  house  was  required 
to  cause  a  lantern  to  be  hung  out  on  a  pole  every 
night  in  the  dark  time  of  the  moon  from  November 
until  the  25th  March,  the  charge  to  be  paid  in  equal 
proportions  by  the  seven  houses,  under  the  penalty 
of  ninepence  for  every  default.  During  the  remain- 
der of  the  year  probably  the  entire  population,  with 
the  exception  of  a  few  roystering  blades,  was  snugly 
tucked  away  in  bed  by  nightfall. 

The  organization  of  a  Fire  Department,  with 
twenty-four  members,  dates  from  the  year  1731.* 

*On  the  6th  of  May,  1731,  the  city  authorities  passed  the  fol- 
lowing ordinance:  "  Resolved,  with  all  convenient  speed  to  pro- 
cure two  complete  fire  engines  with  suctions  and  materials  thereto 

65 


The  Bradford  OAap 

Hooks  and  ladders  were  provided,  and  two  engines 
were  brought  from  London,  but  we  do  not  read  of  the 
importation  of  any  of  the  fire-extinguishers  known  in 
the  British  metropolis  as  "  hand-squirts."  Leathern 
buckets  were  the  only  appliances  the  city  had  pre- 
viously possessed  for  the  extinguishing  of  fires  ;  these 
buckets  were  numbered  and  distributed  by  the  au- 
thorities, and  the  law  required  every  householder  to 
be  supplied  with  them  and  to  keep  them  hanging  in 
a  conspicuous  and  convenient  place.  A  dwelling- 
house  with  two  chimneys  had  one  fire-bucket ;  a 
house  with  more  than  two  chimneys,  two  buckets. 
Brewers  were  compelled  to  provide  six  buckets,  and 
bakers  three.  The  mayor  and  aldermen  took  charge 
at  fires,  and  every  person  over  twenty-one  years  of 
age  was  compelled  to  do  fire  duty,  under  a  penalty 
for  refusal  of  one  pound.  After  a  fire  the  buckets 
were  left  in  an  indiscriminate  heap,  and  the  urchins 
of  the  town  turned  many  a  penny  by  sorting  them 
out  and  returning  each  to  its  rightful  owner. 

Property-values  at  this  period  in  the  history  of  the 
city  were  certainly  not  upon  an  inflated  basis.  In 
1726  a  house  on  the  west  side  of  Broadway,  with  a 
lot  70  feet  front  and  50  feet  deep,  was  sold  to  Fred- 
belonging — for  the  public  service.  That  the  sizes  thereof  be  of 
the  4th  and  6th  sizes  of  Mr.  Newsham's  fire  engines  *  *  *  to 
send  to  London  by  the  first  conveniency."  These  engines  arrived 
about  December  6th  by  the  "good  ship  Beaver."  Six  years  later 
fire  engines  were  built  and  sold  in  New  York. 

56 


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The  "Bradford  {Map 

erick  Philipse  for  about  $i  loo,  and  in  1729  a  lot  on 
Maiden  Lane,  near  Pearl  Street,  25  feet  front,  deptii 
not  given,  brought  about  $700.  Threepence  per 
foot  was  paid  for  land  on  the  west  side  of  Broad- 
way near  the  Battery.  A  house  on  Wall  Street, 
lot  61  X  102  feet,  sold  for  about  $2500.  In  the 
"Swamp,"  known  as  Bestevaar's  Kripple-bush,  or 
the  Old  Man's  Swamp,  for  which  in  1732  Jacobus 
Roosevelt  obtained  a  quit-claim  grant  from  the  city 
for  the  sum  of  ;^3oo,*  or  $750,  lots  25  x  100  sold 
for  j^io  per  lot.  In  1727  four  lots  on  George  Street, 
now  Spruce,  and  two  lots  on  Gold  Street,  part  of 
the  Beekman  pasture,  were  sold  for  $22^.  In  17 13 
this  swamp  was  regarded  as  a  source  of  malaria,  and 
an  attempt  was  made  to  drain  it. 

On  May  6,  1732,  a  great  sale  of  seven  lots  of 
ground  on  Dock  Street,  near  the  Custom  House,  and 
east  of  Whitehall  Street,  took  place.  They  were  sold 
for  the  following  sums,  and  to  the  persons  named  : 

Lot  No.  I  to  Stephen  De  Lancey,   .     .     .     .  £i'y^ 

"  "  2  "  "             **           ....  151 

,t  tt  ^  a  David  Clarkson, 155 

"  "  4  "  John  Moore,       .....  275 

"  "  5  "  Stephen  De  Lancey,  ....  192 

"  "  6  "  Robt.  Livingston,  son  of  Philip,  175 

t(  it  y  it  Anthony  Rutgers,      ....  239 

*2i  shillings  sterling  was  the  equivalent  of  36   shillings  in 
New  York  provincial  currency. 
8  SI 


The  "Bradford  Map 

By  which  it  appears,  says  the  chronicler  of  this 
transaction,  that  real  estate  had  increased  in  value 
immensely  since  1686,  when  lots  in  that  quarter  of 
the  city  sold  for  ^35. 

The  revenues  and  expenditures  of  the  municipal 
government  were  upon  a  most  moderate  scale.  For 
the  year  1727  the  receipts  are  stated  to  have  been 
jQ2']\,  and  the  expenditures  jQ2}\.  In  1740  the 
receipts  had  risen  to  but  £,"^41.  They  were  derived 
principally  from  the  rent  of  docks  and  ferries,  licenses 
to  retailers  of  spirituous  liquors,  leases  of  common 
lands,  and  rents  of  water-lots.  In  1722  a  ferry  to 
Long  Island  from  Burger's  Path  (Old  Slip)  was  rented 
for  £']\  per  annum. 

The  majority  of  the  population  of  the  inchoate  city 
was  engaged  in  business  pursuits  as  merchants, 
shopkeepers,  and  tradesmen,  "who  maintained  as  a 
general  rule  the  reputation  of  honest,  punctual,  and 
fair  dealers."  Their  places  of  business  were  either 
in  the  same  building  as  their  dwellings  or  in  close 
proximity.  The  most  prosperous  merchants — and 
they  included  the  most  prominent  citizens — lived  in 
the  rear  of  their  shops  or  over  them.  The  English 
tradesmen  are  said  to  have  been  the  first  to  adopt  the 
practice  of  keeping  their  stores  open  in  the  evening. 

Among  the  articles  kept  in  stock  behind  the  one 
solitary  counter  in  these  modest  little  shops  were 
many  that  would  perplex  and  put  to  confusion  a  sales- 
man if  inquired  for  to-day  in  one  of  our  mammoth  dry- 

68 


The  'Bradford  Map 

goods  houses.  Black  padusoy,  shagreen,  striped  sars- 
nets,  silk  camblet,  cherry  derry,  blue  tabby,  black 
figured  everlasting,  French  double  alamode,  Persian, 
and  grogram.  India  dimity,  and  hoop  petticoats  of 
six  rows,  might  not  prove  so  utterly  unintelligible. 

There  was  in  the  community  the  necessary  sprink- 
ling of  professional  men,  ministers,  doctors,  law- 
yers, and  government  officials;  but  it  supported  no 
leisure  class,  and  the  tramp  had  not  as  yet  been 
evolved.  These  two  extremes  of  society  remained  to 
be  developed  by  a  higher  civilization. 

Industry,  frugality,  and  simplicity  were  the  social 
virtues  which  adorned  New  York  in  1 73 1 .  Aside 
from  the  number  of  bond-servants  who  thronged 
their  masters'  gates,  there  was  little  of  ostentation  or 
lavish  display  in  the  style  of  living  even  of  the  ''high 
families,"  but  there  was  much  of  the  observance  of 
an  old-fashioned  courtesy  in  the  ceremonious  inter- 
change of  the  civilities  of  life.  To  the  gatherings  of 
fashion  the  rich  and  picturesque  costume  of  both 
sexes  lent  an  air  of  stateliness  and  dignity  which  has 
vanished  with  the  dress. 

The  most  distinguished  position,  in  point  of  social 
importance,  was  held  by  the  Dutch  families.  The 
Hollanders  had  lost  their  political  supremacy,  but 
their  social  prominence  remained,  and  they  were  by 
no  means  disposed  to  yield  it  to  the  higher  and  even 
more  refined  and  better  educated  class  of  English  who 
had  become  residents  of  the  city.     More  than  one 


The  Bradford  (Map 

half  the  inhabitants  were  Dutch  or  of  Dutch  descent. 
In  the  Collegiate  Church  this  language  was  still  in  ex- 
clusive use  in  the  pulpit,  and  as  late  as  the  year  1745 
a  knowledge  of  the  Dutch  tongue  was  a  necessity  in 
visiting  the  markets. 

The  principal  Dutch  festivals  were  Christmas,  New 
Year's,  Paas,  Pinxter  (Whitsuntide,  the  great  negro 
holiday),  San  Claas  (St.  Nicholas  or  Christ-kinkle  day, 
the  6th  of  December),  Shrovetide,  and  May  Day. 
As  secular  holidays  only  two  remain,  Christmas  and 
New  Year's  Day,  and  the  latter  has  lost  all  its  old- 
time  significance.  The  fashion  of  making  New 
Year's  calls  yielded  slowly  to  the  difficulties  in  the 
way  of  its  observance  which  the  growth  of  the  city 
interposed.  New  York  clung  to  this  genial  custom, 
and  relinquished  it  with  regret,  and  it  is  only  within 
the  last  twenty  years  that  it  has  become  altogether 
honored  in  the  breach  instead  of  the  observance. 

The  holidays  observed  by  the  English  were  neither 
few  nor  far  between.  New  Year's  Day,  King's  or 
Queen's  Birthday,  King  Charles's  Martyrdom,  Shrove 
Tuesday,  Ash  Wednesday,  Lady  Day  (the  25th  of 
March,  the  old  style  beginning  of  the  year,  when  leases 
were  made  and  rents  became  due).  Good  Friday,  Easter 
Monday  and  Tuesday,  Ascension  Day,  St.  George's 
Day,  King  Charles's  Restoration,  Prince  of  Wales's 
Birthday,  Coronation  Day,  All  Saints'  Day,  Gunpow- 
der Plot,  Christmas  Day,  and  the  Christmas  holidays, 
December  26th  to  28th — all  these  were  officially 


60 


ijlaa^    tM^mMk    igMM~a    ^^a^    jAamB*    ^f^^Sk   d£^ 

New-York  ASSEMBLY,   1759 
At  Mr.  EowAKD  WiiitTi. 
ThisTiCKiT  i&aMiA^Ayone^. 
For  the  Seafon. 


Ti&^  "Bradford  OAap 

recognized  by  the  closing  of  the  Courts  and  Custom 
House;  and  there  must  be  added  several  provincial 
holidays,  General  Fast, 
Thanksgiving,  and  Gen- 
eral Election  Day.  Quite 
enough,  in  all  conscience ! 
The  city  was  by  no 
means  destitute  of 
sources  of  amusement  for 
both  sexes ;  the  men  had  their  weekly  evening  clubs, 
and  for  the  entertainment  of  the  ladies  there  were 
concerts  and  assemblies.  A  pathetic  protest  against 
the  overwhelming  attractions  of  these  gatherings 
appeared  in  the  Gazette  of  December  31,  1733: 

' '  Written  at  a  Concert  of  Music,  where  there  were 
a  great  number  of  ladies. 

"  Music  has  power  to  melt  the  soul. 
By  beauty  nature's  swayed ; 
Each  can  the  universe  control, 
Without  the  other's  aid. 

"  But  here  together  both  appear. 
And  force  united  try  ; 
Music  enchants  the  list'ning  ear, 
And  beauty  charms  the  eye. 

"  What  cruelty  these  powers  to  join  ! 
These  transports  who  can  bear? 
Oh !  let  the  sound  be  less  divine. 
Oh !  look,  ye  nymphs,  less  fair." 

SI 


The  'Bradford  Map 

The  character  of  the  entertainment  afiforded  at 
these  "consorts"  is  set  forth  in  an  advertisement 
of  the  musical  purveyor  of  the  day,  which  we  copy 
from  the  same  journal : 

"On  Wednesday,  the  21  of  January  Instant  there 
will  be  a  Consort  of  Musick,  Vocal  and  Instrumental, 
for  the  Benefit  of  Mr.  Pachelbell,  the  Harpsicord  Part 
performed  by  himself.  The  Songs,  Violins  and  Ger- 
man Flutes  by  private  hands.  The  Consort  will  be- 
gin precisely  at  6  a' clock.  In  the  house  of  Robert 
Todd,  Vintner.  Tickets  to  be  had  at  the  Coffee- 
House,  and  at  Mr.  Todd's,  at  4  shillings." 

William  Smith,  Chief  Justice  of  the  Province  of 
Canada,  and  the  author  of  a  history  of  New  York  in 
1757,  affords  us  a  pleasing  glimpse  of  the  ladies  of 
his  day,  the  daughters  of  the  dames  whose  praises  are 
sung  by  the  unknown  poet  in  Bradford's  Gazette. 
It  reveals  the  fact  that  they  inherited  the  graces  of 
person  as  well  as  the  other  attractive  qualities  of 
their  fascinating  mothers.  He  is  not,  however,  al- 
together complimentary  in  his  criticism.  He  admits 
that  they  were  "comely  and  dressed  well,  and,  tinc- 
tured with  a  Dutch  education,  managed  their  families 
with  becoming  parsimony,  good  providence,  and  sin- 
gular neatness";  but  he  charges  them,  as  well  as  the 
men,  with  a  general  neglect  of  reading,  and  indeed  of 
all  the  arts  for  the  improvement  of  the  mind.  Yet 
opportunities  for  mental  culture  had  not  been  lack- 
ing.    Free  schools  existed,  and  a  public  library  had 


7be  'Bradford  {Map 

been  established  in  1729,  its  nucleus  being  a  collec- 
tion of  1642  volumes  bequeathed  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Millington,  of  Newington,  England,  to  the  Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts, 
and  by  it  presented  to  the  city.  The  Rev.  John 
Sharpe,  Chaplain  to  Her  Majesty's  Forts  and  Forces 
in  the  Province  of  New  York,  so  early  as  17 13  pro- 
posed to  donate  a  collection  of  books  belonging  to 
him  to  the  city  as  a  foundation  for  a  public  library, 
but  there  is  no  evidence  that  he  ever  carried  out 
this  benevolent  intention. 

The  New  York  Society  Library,  the  oldest  circulat- 
ing library  now  in  existence,  was  organized  in  1754, 
and  chartered  by  Governor  Tryon  in  1772,  at  which 
time  it  contained  1278  volumes. 

An  advertisement  in  the  New  York  Gazette  of 
September  7,  1730,  is  interesting  in  this  connection, 
and  also  as  showing  the  intimate  relations  existing 
between  James  Lyne,  the  surveyor,  and  William  Brad- 
ford, the  printer,  of  the  Bradford  Map.  Mr.  Lyne  noti- 
fies the  public  that  he  has  fitted  up  a  convenient  room 
at  the  Custom  House,  where  he  designs  teaching  in 
the  evenings  during  the  winter  "  Arithmetick,  in 
all  its  parts.  Geometry,  Trigonometry,  Navigation, 
Surveying,  Guaging,  Algebra  and  sundry  other  parts 
of  Mathematical  Learning,"  and  adds,  "Whoever 
inclines  to  be  instructed  in  any  of  the  said  parts  of 
Mathematical  Knowledge  may  agree  with  the  said 
James  Lyne  at  the  house  of  William  Bradford." 

63 


The  "Bradford  Map 

It  is  quite  evident  that  these  early  settlers  brought 
with  them  from  the  mother-country  a  decided  taste 
for  good  living  and  a  fondness  for  the  comforts  of 
life,  and  that  they  strove  to  cultivate  as  many  of  its 
amenities  as  it  was  possible  to  introduce  into  a  new 
country.  We  are  indebted  to  Chief  Justice  Smith 
for  the  following  facts  and  opinions  concerning 
his  townspeople:  "The  people,  both  in  town  and 
country,  are  sober,  industrious,  and  hospitable, 
though  intent  upon  gain.  The  richer  sort  keep  very 
plentiful  tables  abounding  with  great  variety  of 
fish,  flesh,  and  all  kinds  of  vegetables.  The  com- 
mon drinks  are  beer,  weak  \sic\  punch,  and  Madeira 
wine.  For  dessert  we  have  fruits  in  vast  plenty 
of  different  kinds  and  various  species.  .  .  .  With 
respect  to  riches  there  is  not  so  great  an  Inequality 
amongst  us  as  is  common  in  Boston  and  some  other 
places.  Every  man  of  Industry  and  Integrity  has  it 
in  his  power  to  live  well,  and  many  are  the  in- 
stances of  Persons  who  came  here,  distressed  by 
their  Poverty,  who  now  enjoy  easy  and  plentiful 
Fortunes." 

The  prevailing  fashion  in  men's  dress  is  illustrated 
by  the  inventory  of  the  wardrobe  of  the  English  gov- 
ernor. His  Excellency  John  Montgomerie,  to  whom 
the  Map  is  dedicated.  It  embraces  ruffled  shirts, 
dimity  vests,  silk  stockings  with  embroidered  clocks, 
a  scarlet  cloak,  a  cloak  and  breeches  with  gold  lace,  a 
laced  hat,  a  cloth  suit  with  open  silver  lace,  a  gold- 

64 


Tbe  "Bradford  {Map 

headed  cane,  bobtail  wig,  periwig,  and  so  on.  Truly 
he  must  have  presented  an  imposing  appearance 
when  arrayed  for  cere- 
monious occasions.  The 
gala  dress  of  the  private 
citizen  was  also  showy 
and  expensive,  and  the 
use  of  the  small  sword 
as  an  appendage  to  a  gen- 
tleman's street  costume 
was  still  common.  A 
beau's  ball  costume  is 
thus  rhythmically  de- 
scribed by  a  belle  of  1725 


A  FINE  LONG  QUEUE. 


"  Mine,  a  tall  youth  shall  at  a  ball  be  seen, 
Whose  legs  are  like  the  spring,  all  cloth'd  in  green, 
A  yellow  ribband  ties  his  long  cravat. 
And  a  large  knot  of  yellow  cocks  his  hat." 

The  governor  occupied  the  house  within  the  Fort, 
and  maintained  considerable  state  in  his  style  of  liv- 
ing. Servants  in  livery  thronged  the  Fort,  and  negro 
musicians  enlivened  the  evening  with  their  strains 
from  the  battlements. 

A  list  of  His  Excellency's  household  effects  em- 
braces a  large  amount  of  table  silver,  and  his  cellar 
contained  an  extensive  stock  of  wines  and  liquors. 
In  his  stable  were  a  fine  saddle-stallion,  two  coach- 


es 


The  'Bradford  zMap 

horses,  a  number  of  working-  and  breeding-horses,  a 
four-wheel  chaise  and  harness,  a  coach  with  five  sets 
of  harness,  carts,  saddles,  and  no  end  of  equine  para- 
phernalia and  trappings.  After  the  governor's  death 
in  July,  173 1 ,  his  effects  were  sold  at  public  vendue. 
On  October  11,  1 73 1 ,  appeared  the  following  adver- 
tisement of  this  sale  in  the  New  York  Gazette.  His 
"large  fine  barge  with  damask  curtains"  had  been 
previously  disposed  of  at  auction. 

"To  Morrow  being  the  twelfth  day  of  this  Instant, 
at  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  at  the  Fort,  will  be 
exposed  to  sale  by  publick  Vendue  the  following 
Goods,  belonging  to  the  Estate  of  his  late  deceased 
Excellency  Governour  Montgomerie,  viz. : 

"A  fine  new  yallow  Camblet  Bed,  lined  with  Silk 
&  laced,  which  came  from  London  with  Capt  Down- 
ing, with  the  Bedding.  One  fine  Field  Bedstead  and 
Curtains,  some  blew  cloth  lately  come  from  Lon- 
don, for  Liveries  ;  and  some  white  Drap  Cloth,  with 
proper  triming.  Some  Broad  Gold  Lace.  A  very 
fine  Medicine  Chest  with  great  variety  of  valuable 
Medicines.  A  parcel  of  Sweet  Meat  &  Jelly  Glasses. 
A  case  with  12  Knives  and  twelve  Forks  with  Silver 
Handles  guilded.  Some  good  Barbados  Rum.  A  con- 
siderable Quantity  of  Cytorn  Water.  A  Flask  with 
fine  Jesseme  Oyl.  .  .  .  And  several  other  Things. 
All  to  be  seen  at  the  Fort. 

"And  also  at  the  same  Time  and  Place  there  will 


The  "Bradford  {Map 


be  Sold,  One  Gold  Watch,  of  Mr.  Tompkin's  make, 
and  one  Silver  Watch,  Two  Demi-Peak  Saddles,  one 
with  blew  Cloth  Laced  with  Gold,  and  the  other  Plain 
Furniture.  Two  Hunting  Saddles.  One  Pair  of  fine 
Pistols.  A  fine  Fuzee 
mounted  with  Silver,  and 
one  long  Fowling  Piece." 

Governor  Montgomerie 
also  brought  from  Eng- 
land his  private  library, 
which  was  the  largest  in 
the  province  prior  to  the 
Revolution,  numbering 
1 341  volumes,  mostly  of 
a  standard  character. 

In  the  list  of  articles  of 
feminine  apparel  the  most 

noticeable  item  is  that  of  petticoats.  We  are  informed 
that  Madame  Philipse,  a  daughter  of  the  famous  old 
Burgomaster  Van  Cortlandt,  and  the  widow  of  Fred- 
erick Philipse,  one  of  the  wealthiest  men  of  the  day, 
who  was  known  as  the  "Dutch  millionaire,"  pos- 
sessed her  red  cloth  petticoat,  her  black  silk  ditto,  her 
red  silver-lined  petticoat,  and  her  silk  quilted  petti- 
coat. Her  most  notable  article  of  Sunday  outdoor 
ostentation  was  a  splendid  psalm-book  with  gold 
clasps  which  hung  by  a  gold  chain  from  her  arm. 
The  colonial  dames  of  1731  could  go  up  in  perfect 

67 


MY  lady's  head-dress. 


The  "Bradford  (Map 

peace  and  quietness  to  the  sanctuary  on  the  Lord's 
day,  for  the  orderly  observance  of  the  Sabbath  was 
strictly  enforced.  Sunday  liquor  traffic  was  prohib- 
ited under  a  penalty  often  shillings  for  each  offense, 
and  the  law  ordained  that  no  servile  work  but  mat- 
ters of  necessity  should  be  performed.  Children 
were  not  permitted  to  play  in  the  streets  ;  they  were 
perhaps  expected  to  pass  the  interval  between  morn- 
ing and  evening  service  in  conning  their  Scripture 
lesson  from  the  old  blue-and-white  Dutch  tiles,  deco- 
rated with  biblical  subjects,  with  which  most  of  the 
wide-mouthed  chimney-places  of  that  day  were  lined. 
We  are  not  surprised  that  a  lady's  wardrobe  in- 
cluded a  bountiful  supply  of  comfortable  undergar- 
ments when  we  read  that  in  1731  the  churches 
were  unprovided  with  stoves,  and  that  the  doors 
were  left  open  during  service,  while  the  snow  in  win- 
ter drifted  up  the  aisles.  Foot-warmers  and  skirts 
innumerable  would  scarcely  suffice  to  keep  one's 
teeth  from  chattering  during  the  protracted  service 
then  in  vogue.  The  sermon  was  sure  to  be  of  an 
hour's  duration.  It  was  the  duty  of  the  clerk,  whose 
seat  was  immediately  in  front  of  the  high  pulpit,  to 
have  an  hour-glass  standing  near,  and  to  properly 
turn  it  at  the  beginning  of  the  sermon  ;  when  the 
last  grain  of  sand  had  left  the  upper  cavity,  he  would 
rap  three  times  with  his  cane  to  remind  the  domine 
that  an  hour  had  elapsed.  On  one  occasion  a  preacher 
temporarily  supplying  the  pulpit  of  the  "Old  South" 

68 


The  "Bradford  {Map 


quietly  let  two  glasses  run  through,  and  then  informed 
his  hearers  that  as  they  had  been  patient  in  sitting 
through  two  hours  he  would  proceed  on  a  third.  The 
collections  were  taken  up  in  a  velvet  bag  suspended 
from  a  pole.  If  the  silver  tinkle  of  the  bell  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  bag  was  not  sufficient  to  arouse  an  un- 
usually sleepy  member  of  the  congregation,  a  gentle 
rap  on  the  head  was  likely  to  follow. 

The  ministers  in  charge  of  the  Collegiate  Church  at 
this  time  were  Domine  Dubois  and  the  Rev.  Henricus 
Boel.  The  former  held  the  pastorate  for  over  fifty 
years,  and  the  latter  for  forty  years. 

The  year  1731  is  memorable  in  the  history  of  the 
city  for  the  outbreak  of  a  severe  epidemic  of  small- 
pox, which  began  in  the  month  of  August  and  was 
not  suppressed  until  the  succeeding  summer.  The 
interments  in  the  several  burying-places  up  to  the  end 
of  the  year  not  only  show  the  great  mortality,  but 
also  in  a  measure  indicate  the   strength  of  the  dif- 


ferent religious  denominat 

*Church  of  England 
Dutch  Church 
French 
Lutheran    . 
Presbyterian 
Quakers     . 
Baptist 
Jewish 
Negro  burial-ground 


Total 


ons  in  the  city. 


237 

218 

16 

I 

16 

a 

I 

a 

80 

573 


<9 


The  Bradford  OAap 


FRAUNCES  TAVERN,    I  893. 


70 


The  "Bradford  ^ap 

Having  become  somewhat  familiar  with  the  streets 
of  this  half  Dutch,  half  English  town  of  our  fore- 
fathers, let  us  now  turn  our  attention  to  the  Survey 
itself,  thankful  that  there  is  even  this  one  chartographic 
record  remaining  of  a  city  the  original  architecture  of 
which  has  been,  with  a  single  exception,  completely 
changed.  Of  the  1500  houses  it  embraced,  the  well- 
known  Fraunces  Tavern  (and  it  has  been  remodeled), 
built  in  1 70 1  on  the  southeast  corner  of  Pearl  and 
Broad  streets,  remains  as  the  only  link  between  the 
present  city  and  that  of  William  Bradford's  Map. 


SECTION  OF  THE  IRON  RAILING  ON  THE  BALCONY  OF  THE 
FEDERAL  EDIFICE  IN  WALL  STREET. 


n 


We  backward  look  to  scenes  no  longer  there. 


<   ^^^^^i^ 


**4*Wi*>!^J,^ 


ntA  ■ 


A  SOUTHWEST  VIEW  OF  THE  CITY  OF  NEW  YORK  IN 
NORTH  AMERICA,   1^^6. 


CHAPTER  III 


THE   PRINCIPAL   LANDMARKS   OF  THE   CITY  IN    1 73 1 

1  HE  Bradford  Map  bears  this  inscription  :  "A  Plan 
of  the  City  of  New  York  from  an  actual  Survey  Made 
by  lames  Lyne."  There  is  no  date,  but  this  is  at 
once  approximately  determined  by  the  inscription  to 
Lieutenant-Governor  Montgomerie,  who  held  office 
for  but  three  years,  1728  to  1731.  The  map  must 
therefore  have  been  published  during  this  interval. 
But  there  is  conclusive  evidence  in  the  survey 
itself  which  enables  us  to  fix  the  date  with  more 
precision.     The  city  is  divided  into  seven  wards  — 

10  78 


The  Bradford  (Map 

Outward,  North,  South,  East,  West,  Dock,  and  Mont- 
gomerie.  The  last-named  ward  was  added  at  the 
time  of  the  granting  of  the  Montgomerie  Charter 
in  1 73 1.  It  is  highly  probable  that  the  addition  of 
this  new  ward  was  the  immediate  occasion  for  the 
issue  of  the  map,  and  it  undoubtedly  made  its  ap- 
pearance in  that  year. 

The  map  is  printed  on  a  thin  laid  paper,  with  a 
water-mark  of  which  but  little  more  than  a  fleur-de-lis 
can  be  positively  deciphered.  The  engraving  is  light 
and  delicate  in  execution,  qualities  which  are  entirely 
lost  in  all  reproductions  made  of  it. 

Of  facsimiles  there  have  been  a  number.  Prob- 
ably the  first  was  a  lithograph  made  in  1834  by 
George  Hayward  from  the  original  in  possession  of 
G.  B.  Smith,  street  commissioner.  A  copy  of  this 
lithograph  was  made  by  order  of  the  corporation  to 
accompany  a  report  of  the  Committee  on  Docks  in 
1836.  To  both  of  these  the  date  1728  was  errone- 
ously affixed. 

Valentine's  Manual  for  1842-43  contained  a  copy 
of  the  map,  as  did  also  his  History  of  New  York 
published  in  1853.  Another  reproduction  was  pub- 
lished by  F.  B.  Patterson  in  1874,  and  one  (a  colored 
lithograph  by  Joseph  Laing  which  bore  no  date)  by 
John  Slater,  bookseller.  Both  of  these  have  been 
used  by  various  mercantile  firms  as  advertising  signs. 
There  is  at  least  one  reprint  in  circulation  in  addition 
to  those  mentioned  above  without  any  date  of  issue 

74 


The  "Bradford  {Map 

or  name  of  publisher  upon  it.  All  these  maps  are 
without  doubt  copies  of  the  first  reproduction  from 
the  original  made  in  1834,  and  two  of  them  are 
apparently  reimpressions  from  the  first  lithographic 
stone.  All  repeat  the  spurious  date  of  1728,  and 
are  guilty  of  the  same  omissions,  notably  of  a  num- 
ber of  the  boats,  and  the  words  "  Ledge  of  Rocks." 

The  interesting  question  is.  What  has  become  of 
the  original  map  in  possession  of  Street  Commissioner 
Smith?  It  has  never  been  traced,  and  it  is  therefore 
a  gratuitous  assumption  on  the  part  of  the  author  of 
this  book  that  it  is  the  identical  copy  which  subse- 
quently fell  into  his  possession ;  still,  if  this  be  not 
the  case,  it  is  passing  strange  that  its  whereabouts 
should  not  have  been  unearthed  during  thirty  years. 

The  Bradford  Map  on  a  small  scale  appears  in  the 
left-hand  corner  of  a  copperplate  map  of  the  city 
issued  in  1825  by  David  Longworth,  and,  similarly 
reduced  and  engraved  on  copper,  was  printed  in 
Dunlap's  History  of  New  York  in  1839.  Other  re- 
productions have  appeared  in  various  publications 
relating  to  the  early  history  of  the  city. 

In  the  left-hand  upper  corner  of  the  Bradford  Map 
is  this  inscription  :  "To  His  Excellency  Iohn  Mont- 
GOMERiE  Esq.  Cap'  Gen'  &  Gov''  in  Chief  of  his  Majef- 
ti's  Provinces  of  New  York,  New  Iersey,  &c.  This 
Plan  of  the  City  of  New  York  is  humbly  DediC^  by 
Your  Excellency*  obe'  &  most  humble  serv'  W""  Brad- 
ford." These  words  are  surmounted  by  the  gov- 
ts 


The  Bradford  zMap 

ernor's  arms  and  motto,  and  underneath  is  a  tablet 
containing  a  key  to  the  localities  indicated.  The 
tablet  is  supported  by  emblematical  figures  supposed 
to  represent  Peace  and  War.  In  the  opposite  corner 
are  engraved  the  arms  of  the  city  and  the  name  of 
"  Col'  Rob'  Lurting,  Mayor." 

William  Bradford,  who  printed  the  map,  and  by 
whose  name  it  is  best  known,  removed  his  printing- 
press  from  Philadelphia  to  New  York  in  1693,  at  the 
invitation  of  Governor  Fletcher.  For  some  time  he 
was  in  government  employ,  and  his  press  was  prin- 
cipally occupied  with  government  documents.  The 
first  book  printed  in  New  York  at  his  press  was  a 
small  quarto  of  226  pages,  George  Keith's  Truth 
Advanced,  published  in  the  same  year  (1694)  that 
the  Laws  of  the  Province  was  issued. 

In  October,  1725,  Bradford  began  the  publication 
of  the  first  newspaper  printed  in  New  York,  the 
New  York  Gazette.  It  was  a  half  sheet  of  foolscap 
paper  filled  with  European  news,  custom-house  en- 
tries, advertisements,  rewards  offered  for  the  return 
of  runaway  slaves,  and  notices  of  slaves  for  sale  by 
public  vendue.  With  the  beginning  of  1727  (old 
style)  he  increased  it  in  size  to  a  whole  sheet  of 
foolscap,  or  four  pages.  Bradford  also  printed  the 
first  New  York  almanac,  which  was  issued  in  1694, 
and  he  was  the  father  of  copperplate  engraving  and 
of  book-binding  in  the  colony.  At  the  foot  of  the 
outside  page  of  his  journal  he  inserts  this  notice 


Njinb.  304. 


THE 


New -York  Gazette^ 


From  /J '^*/?  I  ft.  to  Monday -i^"?"// 2  J.    iiji- 


(  .  ■.'    Sritff 


Ciiitti»»'>t''in   of  the  Extrtd  from  ('r    /'i 
OkfcrvitUn'i  m  the  Billiof  MyrlAiity- 


Fir  lilt  Momh  of  Vcbriiary,  17  *  '.i  ■ 

MPv  l.ftfU  havins;  coin.imnicatcd  to  iheRov..! 
Socicry  the  bills  of  Mortality  or  thiiCiiy 
tor  the  Years  16F7,  8S,  89  vo,  9i.  ii 
which  the  As;«  and  '■exes  <it  alt  thu  hv<l 
died  for  that  time  wfte  ftt  do>vn  moiilhl-/,  a-.d 
compared  wi'h  the  BiriH'j,  Mr.  HJliy  H"  k  thtlc 
for  his  Stand  irj,  a:iJ  iioiD  thence  has  in»dc  ina>iy 
curioui  Calmlati'>nj. 

From  thefe  Itillt  it  appcarcH,  that  in  the  fine  Years 
abovcrrtcntior.ed  tlitre  wtieb'>in  in  tiat  Ciiy  d(9j 
Pci  Ibnj  and  hiirinl  S^'^y,  whu  !i  st  a  .'vU.litim  i-  vir 
Anium  bjrn  ijjS,  and  buried  1:74,  whcncciin 
Inercatc  of  the  leoplcmay  he  Icpo'kdot  64  !<r 
ylitHHia  which  is  ahoui  a  twcnticih  fart  ot  llicfc 
that  .ire  born.  »nd  mav  Si  I'l'  T'-.l^d  to  be  ballaic"d 
by  thofc  that  i{0  from  that  Town  10  tlie  r.nipcrors 
Armici,  or  into  other  Countri't  in  fiarch  of  a 
Liirci:h>fid.  I-'rom  the  lame  Bills  itappeartci,  that 
348  dint  yearly  in  the  firl  Year  of  their  Ape,  and 
that  t98  (Ji'.d  in  the  five  Y,-ars  betwctn  one 
and  jix  r-i-^pleat  taken  at  a  Mcc'inm,  fo  that  from 
Mr  //jiJri't  Calculation  we  may  e^npiitc  that  57^ 
of  thfir  C'lil  Ircn  rficH  before  their  A';c  of  ten, 
which  is  ni>t  orK  half  of  tlieClilJicn  b;rii  yearly 
In  that  Cii,- ;  from  whence  we  may  oblcrvc  th;  ureat 
Difference  that  there  i%  Hcrv/e-Jii  the  hcaltlfulntft 
ot  the  Children  ot  that  Ciry  and  theCliildrcn  that: 
«re  born  it  /-Won.  of  which  hv  Compntation  above 
fonr  fi"'ih)  die  before  they  arrive  at  1  be  Arc  of  ten. 
Mr.  Hj'ei  obfi-r»es  that  from  the  Apect  fix  com- 
pleat,  ChilJrcn  trrive  at  a  Greater  Degree  of 
SircnR'h  and  Firmnef-,  and  srowlcfsard  I  Is  mortal; 
«nd  from  the  Bills  o'  Mort  liity  at  Br'lUa  he  his 
formed  a  Fable  of  the  Number  of  lavlbnii  of  every 
Age  from  ffvcti  to  a  hundred  indufive,  that  die  in  a 
Year. 

From  Mr.  Haln'i  Table  it  apncars  evident  that 
from  the  Age  o*  Nine  to  about  Twenty  Five  there 
dot^  not  die  above  Si.<  fe-  /mum  ot  eath  inttrmt- 
diate  Age  at  a  Medium,  which  is  aboi!t  One  ft' Cent. 
of  the  whole  PcopU  of  that  Town  of  thofe  .A;;e«, 
which  Proportion  he  fa-.swa'!  confirmed  bv  t Ik  In- 
formation he  had  from  Chrijl^>-Cu»-(k  H  ffital,  the 
Boysof  which  are  fCiiC'iUv  at  the  An^s  t:oin  (iif'.ht 
or  Nine  to  Fifteen  or  Sixteen  ^and  it  was  ohferved 
that  about  One  in  a  riunJixd  of  cuch  Arc  died 
yavly.    Fiom  the  Ajjes  0:  T«v»nty  Five  to  fifty. 


he  fays,  there  fccm  to  have  tilic  r.t  i'-r/iJir  ff-rS 
Seven  to  Ei;-lit  or  Niiu'/W'/!™  of  cacti  in'crti  tdinte 
Year's  At'.,  anil  afur  that  to  Seventy,  tbty  rcfmed 
t.;  ^rnv  :iKirc  ci.'iZy  ;  rho'  the  Niiiilierof  p..rfi  n» 
of  rheic  Ap,es  alive  m".!l  be  nii-.'Ji  diniiniftcd,  yet 
the  Mortal  ry  incrcafej,  fothatihcre  arc  found  to 
die  1  «n  ot  ^kvcn  ^rr  Antrum  of  each  inttrmcdiate 
Y«it'»  Age  ;  from  wh'nct  the  Niin;btr  of  the  l.iv- 
i''!  Ijeinu'  grown  veiv  fmall,  the  Bills  gradually  de- 
cide, rill  there  be  none  kit  to  die. 

Fion  thefc  CorfiHcrations  be  formed  a  Tablc^ 
which  (tives  a  more  jii(l  Idea  of  the  Srati  and  Con- 
ditions of  Mankind,  than  any  tbin<;  hit!  cr  to,  for 
wl-.it  I  kn.iVi,  n  atic  Piblick.  It  e\l  ibiisihc  Niiin- 
b. '  ot  P.  ■>;)!.  in  the  City  of  Brejlt^  oi  all  A;;cs,fi«ni 
dnoit  thi  i  itth  to  e»fre;:mold  Aui",  and  thereby 
fh-ws  the  Chances  of  jV.or^lity  of  all  -\pc5,  snd  like- 
wifj  ho»v  to  rake  an  Kftiniatcof  the  V^lucof  A.^l- 
ruifics  fir  I  ivci,  a?  certain  ai  any  OJciilatioii  that 
rirprnd*  nprv'i  ProbaSiiiiic.  nr  Chances  can  po"bIy 
he  nui!«-, alfo  what  Chances  tbrre  arc  that  a  Pcr- 
fon  of  any  Arc  propof^.l  (halt  live  to  any  other  Age 
given,  and  f-rves  for  m.ir.y  other  I'urpofcs,  which 
he  iioints  forth  in  his  Uid  moft  ingenious  and  ufcfu] 
Diirertion. 

From  this  Table  it  appears  that  the  Peopleof 
^rc/J.iiP  did  conltHof  3400  Hnman  Sonis,  being  the 
S.im  Toi.il  of  the  P^if  nsof  all  iVfCs  in  the  Tablf. 
The  tirft  Ufc  of  this  Table  is  then  to  (hew  the 
Proportion  of  Men  a;>le  to  bcir  Anns  in  any  Mul- 
titude, which  arc  the  Men  between  Eighteen  and 
Fifty  Six,  rather  than  Sixteen  and  .Si\ty,  for  he  rea- 
fonably  concludej,  that  Men  under  Eighteen  are 
generally  too  weak  to  t)esr  the  Fati<',ucs  of  War,  and 
the  VVeipht  ot  Ami',  and  thofc  above  Fifty  Six  are 
generally  too  cia7.y,and  infirm,  notwithftaiiding 
particular  Inltances  10  the  contrary.  Vndcr  Eigh- 
teen .irc  found  from  this  TableinthcC'ty  c{  BrtJ!.iw 
I  997  Ptrfons,  and  3950  a' ove  Fifty  Six,  which  to- 
cethcr  make  I59.;7,  which  beiiie  dcdidcd  out  of 
-4''C0,  there  remain;  180^3,  one  half  ot  which 
niufl  be  fuppofed  to  be  Females  am!  the  other  Males, 
and  thcrefoie  we  muft  conclude  that  th»rc  where  ia 
the  City  of  Prefl-tw  about  gooi  Men  fit  to  bear  Arms, 
which  is  a  Third  and  Seven  Ninth  Part  of  34000 
and  if  we  confidtr  that  in  rveiy  Multitude  there 
are  fcveral  Men  who  are  of  a  proper  Ai'c,  but  be  J 
caufe  of  fome  natural  Infirmity  arc  nor  fit  tor  Service, 
wc  may  then  lay  thisdov;n  as  a  p.cncral  Problem, 
that  In  every  Multitude  ot  I'eople,  ot  ail  Ares  an>l 
Sexes,  there  are  at  UiP-  one  Fx"  'h  that  arc  fit  to 
bear  Arms ;  From  which,  if  we  kaow  the  Numbej 


From  the  Original  in  the  New  York  Historical  Society  Library. 


The  "Bradford  {Map 

to  his  patrons,  "Where  you  may  have  old  books  new 
bound."*  He  died  in  1752,  at  the  advanced  age  of 
eighty-nine  years  ;  the  date  of  his  birth  being  settled 
beyond  dispute  by  a  note  in  the  table  of  his  almanac 
for  May,  1739 — "  The  Printer  born  May  20,  1663." 
"He  was  almost  a  stranger  to  illness  all  his  life,  and 
on  the  morning  of  the  day  of  his  death  is  said  to  have 
walked  over  a  greater  part  of  the  city."  As  an  old 
writer  quaintly  puts  it,  Quite  worn  out  with  old  age 
and  labor,  his  lamp  of  life  went  out  for  want  of  oil. 
He  was  buried  in  Trinity  churchyard,  and  his  tomb- 
stone, removed  thence  to  the  rooms  of  the  New 
York  Historical  Society,  now  stands  in  the  entrance- 
hall  of  that  building.  In  the  inscription  upon  it,  pre- 
pared by  his  apprentice  James  Parker,  the  date  of  his 
birth  is  given  as  having  occurred  in  1660,  and  his  age 
is  erroneously  stated  to  have  been  ninety-two  years. 
The  first  edifice  to  which  attention  is  directed  on 
this  map  is  the  King's  Chapel  in  the  Fort — the  old 
church  of  St.  Nicholas,  built  in  1642  by  the  Dutch 
under  William  Kieft's  administration.  It  was  used 
by  them  as  a  place  of  worship  until  their  removal 
to  their  new  church  in  Garden  Street  in  1693,  when 
it  was  relinquished  to  the  British  government  and  oc- 
cupied by  the  royal  military  forces  as  a  chapel  until 
its  destruction  by  fire  in  174 1.     It  was  not  rebuilt. 

*  The  site  of  the  house  where  William  Bradford  issued  the  first 
newspaper  in  the  city  has  been  identified  by  the  New  York  His- 
torical Society  as  that  of  the  New  York  Cotton  Exchange  building. 

77 


The  'Bradford  OVlap 


It  was  constructed  of  stone,  and  covered  with  oaken 
shingles  called  wooden  slate,  as  they  in  time  became 
blue  in  color,  which  gave  them  at  a  distance  the  ap- 
pearance of  slate.  The  dimensions  were  72  feet  long, 
52  feet  broad,  and   16  feet  high,  and  the  cost  was 

$1040.  The  fol- 
lowing story,  illus- 
trating the  fact  that 
human  nature  is 
much  the  same  in 
all  ages,  is  told  in 
connection  with  its 
erection.  The  gov- 
ernor had  promis- 
I nt  uuvEi\i\wK  3  nuijjr.  i\\\ii  I nc  i,iu  i<,i^H        eci  lO  lumisn  some 

IN  THE  FORT  AT  NEW  AMSTERDAM.  ^f    ^^e     Company'S 

money,  and  the  remainder  was  to  be  raised  by  private 
subscription.  A  few  days  afterward  the  daughter  of 
Domine  Bogardus  (the  second*  pastor  of  the  church) 
was  married,  and  at  the  wedding  party  the  governor 
and  Captain  De  Vries,  thinking  it  a  rare  opportunity  to 
raise  the  requisite  amount  of  funds,  took  advantage  of 
the  good  humor  of  the  guests  and  passed  round  the 
paper  with  their  own  names  heading  the  list.  As  each 
one  present  desired  to  appear  well  in  the  eyes  of  his 
neighbor,  a  handsome  sum  was  contributed.     In  the 

*  The  first  minister  of  the  Collegiate  Church  of  New  York  was 
Domine  Jonas  Michaelius,  a  fellow-student  in  the  University  of 
Leyden  of  the  celebrated  Dutch  poet  Jakob  Cats. 

78 


/  hlJ.-v.riff  J  A 


«^'/  t/A.£lv  in 


i 


From  the  New  York  Magazine,  1795. 


7be  Bradford  (Map 

morning  some  few  appealed  to  the  governor  for  per- 
mission to  reconsider  the  matter,  but  His  Excellency 
would  permit  no  names  to  be  erased  from  the  paper. 
Governor  Kieft  and  Domine  Bogardus  both  lost  their 
lives  by  shipwreck  in  1647.  Asthey  were  returning  to 
Holland  in  the  ship  Princess,  the  vessel  struck  upon 
a  rock  on  the  coast  of  Wales,  and  only  twenty  pas- 
sengers out  of  eighty  were  saved. 

In  the  Fort,  next  to  the  King's  Chapel,  stood 
the  governor's  house,  a  two-story  peaked-roof  build- 
ing, with  two  long,  narrow  dormer  windows  in  the 
roof  and  an  exterior  chimney  on  each  gable.  It  was 
occupied  by  the  royal  governors  down  to  the  period 
of  its  destruction  by  the  fire  of  December  29,  1773, 
in  which  Governor  William  Tryon,  the  last  resident, 
lost  all  his  personal  effects. 

The  next  building  indicated  on  the  Bradford  Map  is 
Trinity  Church  on  Broadway,  at  the  head  of  Wall 
Street,  where  the  third  edifice  of  that  name  now 
stands  overlooking  one  of  the  greatest  money  centers 
on  the  globe,  while  the  music  of  its  chiming  bells 
mingles  daily  with  the  babel  of  the  eager,  hurrying 
multitude  that  beats  and  surges  around  the  quiet 
graveyard  lying  in  its  shadow. 

The  first  church  was  built  on  this  spot  in  1 696,  and 
stood  virtually  on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson,  the  en- 
trance facing  the  river  as  that  of  St.  Paul's  does  now. 
The  cemetery  was  inclosed  on  the  Broadway  side  by 
a  painted  paled  fence.     This  was  the  city  burial- 

79 


The  Bradford  {Map 

place,*  and  was  granted  in  1702  to  the  rector,  ward- 
ens, and  vestry  of  Trinity  Church  to  be  appropriated 
for  a  public  burial-place  forever,  "they  to  keep  the 
same  in  good  fence  and  repair,  and  taking  only  for 
breaking  of  the  ground  for  every  person  above 
twelve  years  of  age  3s.  6d.  and  for  each  child  under 
twelve  years  is.  6d.,  and  no  other  or  greater  duty 
whatsoever  for  the  breaking  of  said  ground." 

The  first  building  was  twice  enlarged,  once  in 
1735,  and  again  two  years  later.  It  was  destroyed 
by  fire  in  1776,  and  rebuilt  in  1788.  It  was  finally 
taken  down  and  the  present  edifice  begun  in  1839 
and  completed  in  1846.  Church  of  England  services 
were  first  regularly  held  in  the  chapel  in  the  Fort  in 
1664,  after  the  surrender  of  the  colony  to  the  British 
by  Governor  Stuyvesant.  The  Rev.  William  Vesey, 
from  whom  Vesey  Street  takes  its  name,  was  the 
first  rector  of  Trinity  parish. 

Following  our  guide  we  come  next  to  the  Old 
Dutch  Church  in  Garden  Street,  or  Garden  Alley,  as 
it  was  called  when  the  church  was  surrounded  by  a 
garden,  "imposed  in  all  the  formal  stiffness  of  cut 
box  and  trimmed  cedar  presenting  tops  nodding  to 
tops,  and  each  alley  like  its  brother,  the  whole  so 
like  Holland  itself."  The  site  when  first  selected  was 
objected  to  as  being  so  far  out  of  town.    The  church 

*The  first  burial-plot  in  the  city  was  on  the  west  side  of 
Broadway,  near  Morris  Street,  comprising  4  lots  25x100  feet 
each.     This  was  broken  up  in  1676. 

80 


The  'Bradford  OAap 


TRINITY  CHURCH,  SECOND  EDIFICE. 


was  Opened  for  divine  service  in  1693,  before  it  was 
entirely  finished.  "It  was  an  oblong  square  with 
three  sides  of  an  octagon  on  the  east  side.  In  the 
front  it  had  a  brick  steeple,  on  a  large  square  founda- 


u 


81 


The  "Bradford  (Map 


tion  so  as  to  admit  a  room  above  the  entry  for  a  con- 
sistory room.  The  windows  were  remarkable  for  their 
size,  and  the  leaden  sashes  for  the  smallness  of  their 
^.  •  panes.    Many  of 

these  contained 
coats -of-arms  of 
the  elders  and 
magistrates  'cu- 
riously burnt  in 
glass'  by  Gerar- 
dusDuyckinck." 
The  inner  rear 
wall  was  also  dec- 
orated with  es- 
cutcheons. Ger- 
ardus  Duyckinck 
appears  to  have 
been  a  glass- 
stainer  and  to 
have  kept  the  art 
emporium  of  the 
period.  He  ad- 
vertises his  busi- 
ness as  a  limner 
and  picture-deal- 
er in  the  New  York  Gazette  in  this  wise :  ' '  Look- 
ing glasses  new  silvered  .  .  .  Also  all  sorts  of  pic- 
tures made  and  sold.  All  manner  of  painting  work 
done  ...  All  sorts  of  painting  coullers  and  oyl  sold 


THE  "old  south"  CHURCH  IN  GARDEN 
STREET,  BUILT    1 693. 


82 


The  Bradford  {Map 


at  reasonable  rates  ...  at  the  sign  of  the  Two 
Cupids  near  the  Old  Slip  Market.  N.  B.  Where  you 
may  have  ready  money  for  old  looking  glasses." 

The  Garden  Street  Church,  or  "  Old  South,"  con- 
tinued the  only  house  of  worship  of  the  Reformed 
Dutch  Church  until  the 
erection  of  the  one  at 
the  corner  of  Nassau 
and  Liberty  streets.  In 
1766  it  was  thorough- 
ly repaired,  and  in 
1807  it  was  taken 
down  and  a  new  edi- 
fice erected  on  the 
same  spot.  The  new 
building  was  used  un- 
til it  was  destroyed  in 
the  great  fire  of  1835. 
In  1813  the  "Old  South"  separated  from  the  Col- 
legiate Church,  and  became  a  distinct  congregation 
in  charge  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Matthews. 

The  Dutch  language  was  in  use  in  the  pulpit  of  the 
Garden  Street  Church  certainly  as  late  as  1764.  In 
March  of  that  year  Domine  De  Ronde,  who  with 
Domine  Ritzema  was  in  pastoral  charge  of  the  two 
Collegiate  churches,  preached  a  sermon  at  the  instal- 
lation of  Dr.  Archibald  Laidlie,  the  first  Collegiate* 

*  "  The  Collegiate  Church  of  New  York  is  so  called  because  it  is 
a  group  of  congregations  in  one  organization." 

88 


THE  GARDEN  STREET  CHURCH, 
SECOND  EDIFICE. 


The  "Bradford  zMap 

minister  who  oificiated   in    the   English    language. 
Domine  De  Ronde's  text  was   taken    from    Isaiah 

XXX.  20,  **muje  oogen  0uUen  uUie  ILeeraerst  sften" 

("Thine  eyes  shall  see  thy  teachers"). 

The  French  church  Le  Temple  du  Saint  Esprit,  on 
the  northeast  side  of  King  Street  (now  Pine)  was 
founded  in  1704.  The  building  was  50  x  77  feet,  and 
stood  upon  a  lot  of  ground  70  feet  front  and  157 
feet  deep,  running  through  to  Little  Queen  Street. 
The  space  not  occupied  by  the  church  was  used  as  a 
graveyard.  This  edifice  remained  standing  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty  years,  and  was  taken  down  in  1834. 

The  establishment  of  a  church  by  the  devoted 
little  company  of  Walloons  who  were  driven  into 
Holland  by  the  terrors  of  the  St.  Bartholomew  Mas- 
sacre and  emigrated  to  this  country  with  the  Dutch, 
is  almost  coeval  with  the  settlement  of  the  colony. 
The  first  Huguenot  church  was  erected  in  1688. 
It  was  a  small,  plain  building  in  Marketfield  Street, 
then  called  Petticoat  Lane,  near  the  Battery.  The  site 
is  now  covered  by  the  Produce  Exchange  building. 

George  Jansen  Rapelye,  whose  daughter  Sarah  was 
long  reputed  to  have  been  the  first  female  white  child* 

*"The  first  birth  of  a  child  of  European  parentage  in  New 
Netherland  was  probably  that  of  Jean  Vigne,  whose  parents  came 
from  Valenciennes,  France.  He  is  believed  to  have  been  born 
in  1614,  eleven  years  before  Sarah  de  Rapelye,  and  at  the  very 
earliest  period  compatible  with  the  sojourn  of  any  Hollanders 
upon  our  territory.    If  this  statement  is  correct,  Jean  Vigne  is  not 

84 


The  "Bradford  Map 


born  in  New  Amsterdam,  was  one  of  these  Walloon 
emigrants.  Many  of  them  settled  at  New  Rochelle, 
where  a  church  building  was  erected  as  early  as  1692. 

In  the  Burgis  picture  of  the  Middle  Dutch  Church, 
the  French  edifice  is  seen  in  the  background.  The 
tower  is  surmounted  by  a  cupola  and  weathercock  al- 
most identical  in  form  with  that  of  the  Dutch  Church. 
The  small  print 
here  introduced 
gives  a  view  of 
the  building  be- 
fore this  cupola 
was  added. 

TheNewDutch 
Church,  70x100 
feet  in  size,  on 
the  cornerof  Nas- 
sau and  Liberty 

(then  called  Crown)  streets,  was  completed  in  1731, 
but  had  been  opened  for  religious  worship  in  1729. 
The  location  was  at  this  time  "quite  on  the  verge 
of  the  more  compact  part  of  the  city." 

When  this  building  was  taken  down  in  1882  it 
was  the  most  venerable  church  edifice  in  the  city,  and 
had  had  a  checkered  history.  British  troops  had 
turned  it  into  a  riding-school  for  cavalry,  but  the 
desecrated  temple  was  restored  after  the  Revolution 

only  the  first  born  of  European  parents  in  New  Netherland,  but, 
as  far  as  known,  in  the  whole  United  States  north  of  Virginia." 

85 


LE  TEMPLE  DU  SAINT  ESPRIT. 


The  Bradford  (Map 

and  again  devoted  to  religious  purposes.  It  was  re- 
opened for  public  worship  on  the  4th  of  July,  1790. 
The  sermon  on  this  occasion  was  delivered  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  John  H.  Livingston. 

There  were  no  galleries  in  the  church  when  it  was 
first  built,  and  the  ceiling  was  one  entire  arch  without 
pillars.  The  pulpit,  covered  with  an  enormous  can- 
opy or  sounding-board,  stood  against  the  east  wall, 
while  the  entrance  was  by  two  doors  in  front  on  the 
Nassau  Street  side.  In  1764  the  pulpit  was  moved 
to  the  north  end,  and  the  pews  and  entrances  altered. 

The  bell,  which  was  cast  in  Amsterdam,  was  pre- 
sented by  Abraham  De  Peyster,  who  died  in  1728 
while  the  church  was  in  process  of  erection.  A 
number  of  Amsterdam  citizens  are  said  to  have 
thrown  silver  coins  into  the  preparation  of  the  bell- 
metal.  This  "trophy  of  antiquity"  now  hangs  in  the 
tower  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  at  the  corner 
of  Forty-eighth  Street  and  Fifth  Avenue. 

The  last  religious  service  in  the  New  Dutch  Church 
was  held  on  the  evening  of  August  11,  1844.  Dr. 
John  Knox  delivered  the  sermon,  and  the  building 
after  an  occupancy  of  one  hundred  and  fifteen  years 
was  finally  closed  with  the  apostolic  benediction  pro- 
nounced in  the  Dutch  language  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Thomas  De  Witt. 

The  ground  upon  which  the  church  was  built  ori- 
ginally cost  ^^575-  In  i860  the  property  was  pur- 
chased by  the  authorities  at  Washington  for  the  sum 

86 


The  Bradford  DAap 

of  $200,000  for  use  as  a  post-office.*  The  church  trus- 
tees, however,  received  for  the  property  $250,000, 
the  amount  above  the  $200,000  appropriated  by 
Congress  being  contributed  mostly  by  members  of 
the  New  York  Chamber  of  Commerce.     In  1 882  the 


'm&vm 


wt^' 


THE  MIDDLE  DUTCH  CHURCH  WHEN  USED  AS  THE  POST-OFFICE. 

government  disposed  of  the  property  at  public  auc- 
tion, and  it  was  secured  by  the  Mutual  Life  Insurance 
Co.  of  New  York  for  a  sum  that  was  at  the  time  con- 
sidered far  below  its  value,  $650,000. 

The  print  of  the  Middle  Dutch  Church  by  William 
Burgis,  of  which  a  reproduction  is  given,  was  prob- 
ably executed   shortly  after  the  completion  of  the 

*  They  had  previously  leased  it  for  the  same  purpose. 

87 


The  Bradford  {Map 


building.  It  is  inscribed,  as  has  been  already  stated, 
"to  the  Honourable  Rip  Van  Dam,  EsqS  President  of 
His  Majesty's  Council  for  the  Province  of  New  York." 

This  worthy  of 
the  olden  time  oc- 
cupied a  distin- 
guished political 
position  in  the  pro- 
vince, being  for 
many  years  presi- 
dent of  the  coun- 
cil, and  for  a  short 
time  (the  interreg- 
num between  the 
administrations  of 
Montgomerie  and 
Cosby)  the  act- 
ing governor.  Al- 
though in  point  of 
wealth  not  rank- 
ing with  the  most 
prosperous  merchants,  he  was  considered  to  pos- 
sess a  comfortable  fortune.  The  value  of  his  property 
probably  did  not  exceed  $25,000.  In  1732  he  pe- 
titioned for  and  was  given  a  small  gore  of  land  at  the 
present  intersection  of  Liberty  Street  and  Maiden 
Lane,  103  feet  in  length,  for  the  nominal  sum  of  10 
shillings,  as  being  of  little  or  no  value  to  any  one  else 
but  him.     With  property  in  the  city  of  New  York 

88 


THE  PRESBYTERIAN  MEETING  HOUSE 
IN  WALL  STREET. 


.  'Jo  //it'  jlWioi/r(M 

WW  \V\  DAM.  1m 

PRfSlDEM  o/I/fi^  ffjMiiU  ('oum,/ /ordcFJiOMXCf.  of  \/:}V\ORK 


From  the  Original  Engraving  in  the  Collection  of  W.  L.  Andrews. 


The  'Bradford  Map 

thus  going  a-begging,  one  could  be  "  passing  rich  on 
£^0  a  year."  Rip  Van  Dam  died  in  1749,  aged  near 
ninety  years.  His  wife  was  Sarah  Vanderspeigel,  one 
of  the  two  daughters  of  Laurens  Vanderspeigel,  a 
baker,  who  by  long  and  devoted  attention  to  his 
business  had  accumulated  a  "  handsome"  property. 

The  Presbyterian  Meeting  House,  on  the  north  side 
of  Wall  Street,  near  Broadway,  was  erected  in  171 9. 
The  ground  had  been  purchased  some  time  pre- 
viously from  Abraham  De  Peyster  and  Samuel  Bayard 
for  about  $875.  This  edifice  suffered  the  common 
fate  of  all  the  church  buildings  in  the  city  during 
the  Revolution,  and  was  turned  into  a  barracks  for 
British  troops.  It  was  enlarged  in  1748  and  again  in 
1 810,  and  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1834,  but  im- 
mediately rebuilt.  Jonathan  Edwards  occupied  the 
pulpit  of  this  church  for  a  short  period  in  1721. 

The  other  church  buildings  shown  upon  the  Brad- 
ford Map  are  the  Quaker  Meeting  House,  a  small 
frame  building  in  Little  Green  Street  (a  lane  running 
from  Maiden  Lane  to  Liberty  Street),  built  about 
1703  ;  the  Baptist  Church  on  Golden  Hill,  erected  in 
1724;  the  Lutheran  Church,  a  modest  stone  building 
built  in  1 702  on  the  corner  of  Rector  Street  and  Broad- 
way, afterward  the  site  of  the  first  Grace  Church ; 
and  the  Jewish  Synagogue  in  Mill  Street,  completed 
in  1730. 

The  first  building  occupied  as  a  City  Hall  stood  at 
the  head  of  the  present  Coenties  Slip,  on  the  corner 

12  89 


The  Bradford  zMap 

of  Pearl  Street,  and  was  originally  the  City  Tavern, 
built  by  the  government  in  1642  and  granted  to  the 
city  as  a  Stadthuys  in  1653.  ^^  was  sold  in  1699  for 
;^920  to  John  Rodman,  merchant.    The  construction 


THh  STADTHUYS  IN   COENTIES   SLIP. 
First  City  Hall  of  New  York. 


of  a  new  City  Hall  was  immediately  begun,  and  it  was 
completed  in  1700  at  a  cost  of  ^i  151  i8s.  3d.  At 
the  time  of  its  erection  the  line  of  Wall  Street  upon 
which  it  stood  was  all  vacant  ground,  and  was  not 
built  upon  for  many  years  subsequently.  The  build- 
ing was  of  stone,  some  of  which  is  said  to  have  been 
taken  out  of  the  bastions  which  stood  upon  the  line 
of  fortifications  in  Wall  Street.  It  had  a  roof  of  cop- 
per, and  was  surmounted  by  a  cupola.  The  com- 
mon jail  and  dungeon  was  for  a  time  located  in  the 

90 


The  "Bradford  (Map 

basement  and  subcellar  of  this  building,  and  the 
debtors'  prison  in  the  open  garret,  which  was  neither 
ceiled  nor  plastered.  After  the  Revolution  the  ex- 
terior was  remodeled  and  the  interior  refitted  under 
the  supervision  of  Major  L'Enfant,  the  well-known 
French  military  engineer,  with  the  expectation  of 


THE  OLD  CITY  HALL  IN   WALL  STREET. 
From  Gritn's  Drawing. 

making  it  the  permanent  residence  of  the  Federal 
Legislature,  and  it  was  named  the  Federal  Edifice. 
The  building,  as  altered  at  this  time,  was  fully  de- 
scribed in  the  Columbian  Magazine  for  1789.  The 
basement  story  was  styled  Tuscan,  and  was  pierced 
with  seven  openings.  Four  massive  pillars  in  the 
center  supported  four  Doric  columns  and  a  pedi- 

si 


7be  "Bradford  {Map 

ment.  The  frieze  was  divided  so  as  to  admit  thir- 
teen stars  in  the  metopes.  These,  with  the  American 
eagle  and  other  insignia  in  the  pediments,  and  the 
tablets  over  the  windows  filled  with  thirteen  arrows 
and  the  olive-branch  united,  marked  it  as  a  building 
set  apart  for  national  purposes.  The  representatives' 
room  was  octagonal  in  form,  6i  feet  deep  and  36  feet 


THE  GOVERNMENT  HOUSE,    1 795- 
From  the  New  York  Magazine. 

high,  with  a  domed  ceiling.  It  was  finished  in  light- 
blue  damask.  The  senate-chamber  had  an  arched 
ceiling,  and  was  40  feet  long,  30  feet  wide,  and  20 
feet  high,  furnished  in  crimson  damask.  This  room 
opened  into  a  gallery  in  front  of  the  building  which 
was  12  feet  deep,  and  was  guarded  by  a  handsome 
iron  railing.    In  this  gallery  Washington  took  the  oath 

92 


i:-..  ,/  //<: 


r  r.  UK  UAi.     r.uirici:    •»     xr.w  York. 


From  the  Massachusetts  Magazine,  1789. 


The  Bradford  (Map 

of  office  as  first  President  of  the  United  States  in  the 
presence  of  a  large  concourse  of  people  who  assem- 
bled in  front  of  the  building.  A  statue  of  Wash- 
ington on  the  steps  of  the  Sub-Treasury  marks  the 
spot  where  this 
historical  inci- 
dent occurred. 
Among  other 
preparations  at 
this  time  made 
in  the  expecta- 
tion   that    New 

THE  CITY   HALL  IN   THE  PARK. 

York  would    be 

fixed  upon  as  the  capital  city  of  the  country,  was 
the  erection  of  the  Government  House  on  the  site 
of  Fort  George,  opposite  the  Bowling  Green,  in- 
tended as  the  official  residence  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States.  It  was  the  finest  mansion  in  New 
York  at  the  close  of  the  last  century  —  a  stately  edi- 
fice of  red  brick  with  Ionic  columns.  Before  it  was 
completed  the  seat  of  government  was  removed  to 
Philadelphia,  and  the  building  was  then  appropriated 
to  the  use  of  the  governors  of  the  State.  Later  it 
became  the  Custom-House,  and  in  the  year  1815 
was  removed.  The  Bowling  Green  block  of  old- 
fashioned  brick  houses  now  stands  on  its  site,  and  in 
the  whirligig  of  time  the  scene  will  shortly  shift 
again  and  a  new  custom-house  will  probably  occupy 
the  same  ground  as  its  predecessor. 

93 


The  Bradford  (Map 

The  foundation-stone  of  the  present  City  Hall  was 
laid  at  its  southeast  corner  on  May  2(i,  1803,  during 
the  mayoralty  of  Edward  Livingston,  and  the  build- 
ing was  finished  in  18 12  at  a  cost  of  half  a  million 
dollars,  exclusive  of  the  furniture.     The  architect  was 


BROADWAY   AND  FULTON   STREET. 
The  City  Hall  in  the  Distance, 


John  McComb,  a  native  of  New  York.  The  dimen- 
sions are  216  feet  in  length  by  105  feet  in  breadth. 
The  front  and  both  ends  were  finished  in  white  marble 
brought  from  West  Stockbridge,  Massachusetts,  but 
the  rear  in  brown  freestone.  The  use  of  this  cheaper 
material  on  the  up-town  side  has  given  rise  to  the 
facetious  statement  that  the  builders  considered  it  a 
favorable  opportunity  to  save  expense  upon  a  part  of 
the  edifice  that  would  rarely  fall  under  observation. 


94 


The  Bradford  [Map 

When  completed  this  building  was  justly  consid- 
ered the  finest  structure  in  the  United  States.  It 
was  long  the  show-place  of  the  city,  open  to  visi- 
tors every  week-day,  except  Monday,  after  3  p.  m., 
with  a  person  in  attendance  to  exhibit  the  building 
for  a  small  douceur.  It  still  remains,  after  the  lapse 
of  nearly  a  century,  the  most  chaste  and  pleasing  ex- 
ample of  municipal  architecture  in  the  city,  infinitely 
superior,  from  an  artistic  standpoint,  if  from  no  other, 
to  the  edifice  which  stands  behind  it,  and  which  has 
cost  the  taxpayers  twenty-four  times  as  much. 

The  remaining  buildings  which  James  Lyne  indi- 
cates on  his  map  are  the  Custom-House  in  Dock 
Street,  the  Weigh-House,  Bayard's  Sugar-House,  the 
Exchange  in  Broad  Street,  two  Free  Schools  (one 
Dutch  and  one  English),  and  four  Market-places — the 
Fish,  Old  Slip,  Meat,  and  Fly  markets.  These  are 
of  no  particular  historical  importance,  and  require  no 
special  reference. 


THE  ROYAL  EXCHANGE. 
95 


A  different  face  of  things  each  age  appears, 
A  nd  all  things  alter  in  a  course  of  years. 


NEW  YORK  FROM  GOVERNOR'S  ISLAND,   1 83  I. 


CHAPTER   IV 


CONCLUSION 

We  shall  bring  to  a  close  this  effort  to  retrace 
the  lines  and  repeople  the  city  of  New  York  as  it  was 
at  the  time  when  James  Lyne  measured  and  mapped 
out  its  streets,  with  an  extract  from  the  oft-quoted 
diary  of  a  Swedish  traveler,  Professor  Peter  Kalm,who 
visited  the  country  in  1748,  seventeen  years  subse- 
quent to  the  date  of  the  survey.  In  the  interval 
the  population  had  not  greatly  increased,  and  the 
general  appearance  of  the  city  had  undergone  no 
marked  change. 


18 


«7 


The  Bradford  Map 

"The  streets,"  he  informs  us,  "do  not  run  so 
straight  as  those  of  Philadelphia,  and  have  some- 
times considerable  bendings  ;  however,  they  are  very 
spacious  and  well  built,  and  most  of  them  are  paved, 
excepting  in  high  places  where  it  has  been  found  use- 
less. In  the  chief  streets  there  are  trees  planted  which, 
in  summer,  give  them  a  fine  appearance,  and  during 
the  excessive  heat  at  that  time  afford  a  cooling  shade.  I 
found  it  extremely  pleasant  to  walk  in  the  town,  for 
it  seemed  quite  like  a  garden.  The  trees  which  are 
planted  for  this  purpose  are  chiefly  of  two  kinds. 
The  water-beech  is  the  most  numerous,  and  gives  an 
agreeable  shade  in  summer  by  its  large  and  numerous 
leaves.  The  locust-tree  is  likewise  frequent ;  its  fine 
leaves  and  the  odoriferous  scent  which  exhales  from 
its  flowers  make  it  very  proper  for  being  planted  in 
the  streets  near  the  houses  and  in  gardens.  There 
are  likewise  lime-trees  and  elms  in  these  walks,  but 
they  are  not  by  far  so  frequent  as  the  others.  .  .  . 
Besides  numbers  of  birds  of  all  kinds  which  make 
these  trees  their  abode,  there  are  likewise  a  kind  of 
frogs  which  frequent  them  in  great  numbers  during 
the  summer ;  they  are  very  clamorous  in  the  even- 
ing and  in  the  nights  (especially  when  the  days  have 
been  hot,  and  a  rain  is  expected),  and  in  a  manner 
drown  the  singing  of  the  birds. 

' '  Most  of  the  houses  are  built  of  brick  and  are  gen- 
erally strong  and  neat,  and  several  stories  high. 
Some  have,  according  to  the  old  architecture,  turned 


The  'Bradford  {Map 

the  gable-ends  toward  the  street,  but  the  new  houses 
are  altered  in  this  respect.  Many  of  the  houses  have 
a  balcony  on  the  roof  on  which  the  people  sit  in  the 
evenings  in  the  summer-time,  and  from  thence  they 
have  a  pleasant  view  of  a  great  part  of  the  town,  and 
likewise  of  part  of  the  adjacent  water,  and  of  the 
opposite  shore. 

"The  roofs  are  commonly  covered  with  shingles 
or  tile,  the  former  of  which  are  made  of  the  white  fir- 
tree  which  grows  higher  up  in  the  country.  .  .  . 
The  walls  of  the  houses  are  white-washed  within, 
and  I  do  not  anywhere  see  hangings,  with  which  the 
people  in  this  country  seem  in  general  to  be  little 
acquainted.  The  walls  are  quite  covered  with  all 
sorts  of  drawings  and  pictures  in  small  frames.  On 
each  side  of  the  chimneys  they  usually  have  a  sort  of 
alcove,  and  the  wall  under  the  window  is  wains- 
coated,  with  benches  under  the  window.  The 
alcoves  as  well  as  all  of  the  woodwork  are  painted 
with  a  bluish-gray  color.  .  .  .  The  winter  is  much 
more  severe  here  than  in  Philadelphia.  The  snow 
lies  for  some  months  together  on  the  ground,  and 
sledges  are  made  use  of.  The  river  Hudson  is  about 
a  mile  and  a  half  wide  at  this  point,  and  the  ice  stands 
in  it  not  only  one  but  for  even  several  months.  It 
has  sometimes  a  thickness  of  more  than  two  feet. 

"The  inhabitants  are  sometimes  greatly  troubled 
with  mosquitoes.  They  either  follow  the  hay,  which 
is  made  in  the  low  meadows  near  the  town,  which 

99 


The  Bradford  {Map 

are  quite  penetrated  with  salt  water,  or  they  accom- 
pany the  cattle  when  brought  home  at  evening.  .  .  . 

"The  watermelons  which  are  cultivated  near  the 
town,  grow  very  large.  They  are  extremely  deli- 
cious, and  are  better  than  in  other  parts  of  America, 
though  they  are  planted  in  the  open  fields  and  never 
in  a  hotbed.  I  saw  a  watermelon  at  Governor  Clin- 
ton's which  weighed  47  English  pounds,  and  another 
at  a  merchant's  in  town  42  pounds  weight;  how- 
ever, they  were  reckoned  the  largest  ever  seen  in  the 
country.     Oysters  are  plenty  and  of  fine  quality." 

Our  keen-eyed  visitor  appears  to  have  been,  in  the 
main,  very  favorably  impressed  with  the  island  of 
Manhattan,  and  would  doubtless  have  readily  in- 
dorsed the  verdict  rendered  by  Hendrick  Hudson  a 
century  previous  that  it  was  "a  very  good  land  to 
live  in  and  a  pleasant  land  to  see."  In  one  respect 
the  city  he  described  in  1748  has  certainly  not  im- 
proved as  it  has  grown  greater  and  more  populous. 
The  cool  and  attractive  summer  residence  he  depicts, 
and  upon  which  fact  he  lays  such  stress,  is  a  dream 
of  the  past.  Forests  of  telegraph-poles,  with  electric 
wires  for  leaves  and  branches,  have  taken  the  place 
of  the  rows  of  pleasant  shade-trees,  and  the  invigorat- 
ing breezes  of  the  bay  can  no  longer,  in  the  dog-days, 
find  their  way  through  streets  whose  buildings 
shut  out  both  air  and  sunlight.  The  song-birds,  too, 
have  flitted  away,  leaving  the  quarrelsome  little  Eng- 
lish sparrow  in  undisputed  possession  of  the  town. 

100 


FATHER    KNICKERBOCKER. 
101 


The  Bradford  OAap 

More  than  fifty  years  ago  this  pessimistic  view  of 
the  future  of  the  ancient  Knickerbocker  city  was  pre- 
sented by  the  editor  of  the  New  York  Mirror  (G. 
P.  Morris)  in  the  columns  of  his  journal:  "The  city 
of  the  Knickerbockers  is  fast  disappearing  from  the 
world  of  realities,  and  their  homes  are  following 
them  to  the  vast  shadow  of  oblivion.  Tiled  roofs 
and  high  peaked  gable-ends  have  already  under- 
gone the  fate  of  the  cocked  hats,  the  eel-skin  queues, 
and  the  multitudinous  small  clothes  that  once  gave 
assurance  of  a  race  of  Knickerbockers  in  this  venera- 
ble city;  all  are  gone,  and  in  a  few  short  years  there 
will  be  none  to  remember  that  such  things  were! 
St.  Nicholas  has  abandoned  his  once  favorite  me- 
tropolis, and  how  should  it  be  otherwise  since 
there  is  not  a  Dutch  chimney-corner  left  for  him  to 
nestle  in?" 

Happily  we  have  not  yet  lived  to  see  the  com- 
plete fulfilment  of  this  dismal  prophecy. 

"That  blissful  and  never  to  be  forgotten  age, 
When  everything  was  better  than  it  has  been  e'er 
since," 

has  undeniably  passed  out  of  sight,  but  not  entirely 
out  of  mind ;  it  is  still  to  memory  dear.  The  Belgic 
New  Amsterdam  of  the  seventeenth  century  has  be- 
come the  cosmopolitan  New  York  of  the  nineteenth  ; 
nevertheless,  we  maintain  that  it  is  Diedrich  Knicker- 

102 


The  'Bradford  Map 

bocker's  city  still,  and  that  its  patron  saint  is  none 
other  than  the  good  St.  Nicholas. 

The  birth  of  the  approaching  century  will  witness 
the  complete  transformation  of  the  22,000  acres  in- 
cluded in  Peter  Minuit's  purchase  two  and  a  half  cen- 
turies ago  from  a  wilderness  of  woods  and  streams 
to  one  of  bricks  and  mortar,  with  a  population  ex- 
ceeded in  numbers  by  that  of  but  two  other  cities  on 
the  face  of  the  earth  —  a  marvelous  outgrowth  from 
the  little  cluster  of  thatched  roofs  and  wooden  chim- 
neys which  nestled  for  protection  under  the  walls  of 
the  Fort  at  the  Battery,  and  over  which  floated  the 
flag  of  "  Oranje  boven,"  the  tricolor  of  Holland. 

All  honor  to  those  of  every  clime  and  nationality 
whose  brain  and  sinew  have  contributed  to  this  re- 
sult, but,  above  all,  honor  to  the  pioneers,  the  men 
who  led  the  way,  the  sturdy,  stout-hearted  Dutch- 
men who,  in  founding  the  colony  of  New  Nether- 
land,  builded  far  better  than  they  knew  and  laid  the 
substructure  of  a  city  fairer  and  greater  than  in  their 
wildest  flights  of  fancy  it  could  have  entered  into 
their  minds  to  conceive. 

The  Dutch  discoverers  of  New  Netherland  were, 
said  Chancellor  Kent  in  an  address  before  the  New 
York  Historical  Society  in  1828,  grave,  temperate, 
firm,  persevering  men,  who  brought  with  them  the 
industry,  the  economy,  the  simplicity,  the  integrity, 
and  the  bravery  of  their  Belgic  sires,  and  with  these 
virtues  they  also  imported  the  lights  of  the  Roman 

103 


The  "Bradford  {Map 

civil  law  and  the  purity  of  the  Protestant  faith.  To 
that  period  we  are  to  look  with  chastened  awe  and 
respect  for  the  beginnings  of  our  city  and  the  works 
of  our  primitive  fathers. 

31emanu  ue  nxt  geeben 
rjie  Ijem  toefeomt* 


Finis. 


FLAG  OF  THE  DUTCH  WEST  INDIA  COMPANY. 


104 


CHRONOLOGICAL    ARRANGEMENT    OF    THE    PRINCIPAL 
HISTORICAL   EVENTS  REFERRED  TO  IN  THIS  BOOK. 

1609  The  North   River  discovered  and  explored  by  Hendrick 

Hudson. 
1614  A  trading  post  established  at  Fort  Nassau  on  Castle  Island, 
near  Albany. 
Birth  of  the  first  child  of   European  parentage  in  New 
Netherland. 
1626  Purchase  of  the  Island  of  Manhattan  by  the  Dutch  West 

India  Company. 
1633  The  tlrst  church  erected  on  the  Island. 
1642  The  first  church  on  the  Island  abandoned  to  business  pur- 
poses. 
The  Church  of  St.  Nicholas  built  in  the  Fort. 
The  City  Tavern  built  by  the  Government. 
1647  Ex-Governor  Kieft  and  Domine  Bogardus  shipwrecked. 

1651  View  of  "  t'  Fort  nieuw  Amfterdam  op  de  Manhatans" 

published  at  Amsterdam. 

1652  The  city  incorporated  under  the  name  of  New  Amsterdam. 

1653  The  City  Tavern  given  to  the  municipality  for  a  Stadthuys. 
Organization  of  a  city  magistracy. 

1656  The  city  surveyed  and  a  map  of  it  made. 

Adriaen  vander  Donck's  view  of   "Nieuw  Amsterdam" 

published. 
1658  A  road  laid  out  from  the  Collect  Pond  to  Harlem. 
1660  Incorrect  date  of  William  Bradford's  birth  engraved  on  his 

tombstone. 

1663  Birth  of  William  Bradford. 

1664  Surrender  of  the  colony  to  the  English  by  Governor  Stuy- 

vesant. 
1676  The  first  city  burial-place  broken  up  into  lots. 

14  105 


Chronological  Index 

1686  The  first  coach  in  New  York  brought  by  Colonel  William 
Smith, 
The  Park  ceded  to  the  Corporation  of  the  City  of  New  York 
by  Governor  Dongan. 
1688  The  first  Huguenot  church  built. 
1691  Acting  Lieutenant-Governor  Jacob  Leisler  executed. 

1693  The  Garden  Street  Church  built. 

William   Bradford's  press  removed   from   Philadelphia  to 
New  York. 

1694  The  first  almanac  and  the  first  book  printed  in  New  York 

by  William  Bradford. 
The  Laws  of  the  Province  first  printed. 
1696  The  first  Trinity  Church  erected. 
The  first  hackney  coach  advertised. 

1699  The  Stadthuys  sold  to  John  Rodman,  merchant. 

1700  The  City  Hall  in  Wall  Street  built. 

1 70 1  Fraunces  Tavern  built   on  the  corner  of  Pearl  and  Broad 

streets. 

1702  The  Lutheran  Church  built. 

1703  The  Quaker  Meeting  House  built. 

1704  Le  Temple  du  St.  Esprit  built. 

1705  The  "King's  Farm"  property  granted  by  Lord  Cornbury 

to  the  corporation  of  Trinity  Church. 
1707  Broadway    paved    with    stone    from    Trinity  Church    to 

JVlaiden  Lane. 
1 7 19  The  Presbyterian  Meeting  House  or  Church  in  Wall  Street 

erected. 
1 72 1  Jonathan  Edwards  the  minister  for  a  short  time  of  the 

Presbyterian  Church  in  Wall  Street. 

1724  The  first  Baptist  Church  built. 

1725  The  first  newspaper  issued  in  New  York. 

1728  Date  erroneously  ascribed  to  the  Bradford  Map. 
Death  of  Abraham  de  Peyster. 

1729  Gift  of  books  to  the  city  for  a  public  library. 
New  or  Middle  Dutch  Church  opened  for  worship. 

106 


Chronological  Index 

1 730  The  first  Jewish  Synagogue  built. 

1 73 1  Probable  date  of  the  Bradford  Map. 
Contemporaneous  date  of  the  View  of  Castle  William  and 

of  the  Middle  Dutch  Church  print. 
The  Montgomerie  Charter  granted.    (The  Charter  is  dated 

January  15,  1730,  but  as  the  old  style  of  reckoning  then 

in  use  began  the  year  in  March,  the  correct  date  according 

to  existing  usage  is  1 73 1 .) 
Death  of  Governor  John  Montgomerie,  and  sale  of  his  effects. 
A  Fire  Department  organized  by  city  ordinance. 
The  New  or  Middle  Dutch  Church  completed. 
A  smallpox  epidemic  in  the  city. 
A  census  taken  of  the  city  and  county. 

1732  Sale  of  lots  in  Dock  Street,  showing  value  of  real  estate  at 

this  period. 

1733  Bowling  Green  laid  out  by  city  ordinance. 

1 734  A  law  passed  for  the  preservation  of  fish  in  the  Collect  Pond. 

1735  Trinity  Church  enlarged. 

1739  Date  of  the  Almanac  in  which  mention  is  made  of  William 
Bradford's  birth.     See  table  for  May. 

1741  Discovery  of  an   alleged  Negro  Plot,   and  execution   by 

hanging  or  burning  of  many  of  the  accused. 
The  King's  Chapel  in  the  Fort  destroyed  by  fire, 

1742  A  map  of  the  city  drawn  by  David  Grim, 
Brick-kilns  in  operation  on  the  Commons. 

1745  A  knowledge  of  the  Dutch  language  still  necessary  in  visit- 
ing markets. 

1748  The  Presbyterian  Church  in  Wall  Street  enlarged. 

1749  Death  of  Rip  Van  Dam. 

1750  The  first  coach-builder  established  in  New  York. 
1752  Death  of  William  Bradford. 

1754  The  New  York  Society  Library  founded. 

1755  A  map  of  the  city  published  by  Gerardus  Duyckinck, 
1757  A  History  of  New  York  published  by  Chief  Justice  Smith, 
1764  The  English  language  first  used  in  Collegiate  Churches. 

107 


Chronological  Index 

1766  The  Garden  Street  Church  extensively  repaired. 

1772  The  New  York  Society  Library  chartered. 

1773  The  Governor's  House  in  the  Fort  destroyed  by  fire. 
1776  The  Great  Fire.     Trinity  Church  burned. 

1788  Trinity  Church  rebuilt. 

1789  Washington  inaugurated   on  the  balcony  of  the  Federal 

Edifice  in  Wall  Street. 

1790  The  Middle  Dutch   Church  reopened  for  public  worship 

after  the  Revolution. 
1794  Many  changes  made  in  names  of  streets. 
1803  The  foundation-stone  of  the  City  Hall  in  the  Park  laid. 
1805  The  Collect  Pond  filled  in. 
1807  The  second  church  edifice  in  Garden  Street  built. 

A  copy  of  the  Bradford  Map  presented  to  the  New  York 

Historical  Society  by  John  Pintard. 
1 8 ID  The  Presbyterian  Church  in  Wall  Street  again  enlarged. 

1 8 12  The  City  Hall  in  the  Park  completed. 

18 13  The  Garden  Street  Church  becomes  an  independent  con- 

gregation. 
181 5  The  Government  House  removed. 

1834  Probable  date  of  first  facsimile  of  the  Bradford  Map. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  in  Wall  Street  destroyed  by  fire. 
The  French  Church  in  Pine  Street  taken  down. 

1835  The  second  Great  Fire.    The  Garden  Street  Church  burned. 
1839  The  second  Trinity  Church  taken  down,  and  the  present 

edifice  begun. 

1844  The  last  religious  service  held  in  the  Middle  Dutch  Church. 

1846  The  third  Trinity  Church  completed. 

i860  The  Middle  Dutch  Church  purchased  by  the  United  States 
Government  for  use  as  a  post-office.  The  General  Post- 
office  had  been  located  in  this  building  since  its  removal, 
in  1845,  from  the  Rotunda  in  the  City  Hall  Park. 

1882  The  Middle  Dutch  Church  sold  by  the  Government  to  the 
New  York  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company,  and  the 
building  demolished. 

108 


From  the  American  Almanack  for  1758. 
Compiled  by  Titan  Leeds,  printed  by  William  Bradford. 


A  Defer iption  of  the  High  ways  and  Roads 

From  Philadelphia  to  New -York,  98  Miles 

Thus  Accounted 

l^^rom  Philadelphia,     M. 
Jl      To  Burlington,        20 

To  Cranberry  Brook,      12 

To  Amboy,                       20 

To  Dr.  Browns,                9 

To  the  Narrows,              18 

To  Crofwick's  Bridge        5 

To  Flat-Bufti,                    5 

To  Allen's  Town,             4 

To  New  York,                   5 

From  New -York  to  Bofton,  273  Miles 

Thus  Accounted 

|.^rom  New-York         M. 
r     To  Half-way-houfe  7 

To  Gilford,                      12 

To  Killingfworth,            10 

To  Kings-Bridge                 8 

To  Seabrook        *           10 

To  Eaft-Chefter,               5 

To  New-London,            l8 

To  New-Rochel,               4 

To  Stoneington,              15 

To  Rye,                              4 

To  Pemberton,                 10 

To  Horfe-neck,                  7 

To  Darby,                          3 

To  Stanford,                      7 

To  the  French  Town,    24 

To  Norwalk,                    lo 

To  Providence,                20 

To  Fairfield,                    12 

To  Woodcocks,               15 

0  Stratford,                          8 

To  Billends,                      10 

To  Millford,                       4 

To  Whites,                         7 

To  New-Haven,              10 

To  Dedham,                      6 

To  Branford,                   01 

To  Bofton,                        10 

From  Philadelphia  to  Annapolis  in  Maryland, 

Thus  Accounted 

l^^rom  Philadelphia       M 
1/     to  Derby,                    7 

To    North  Eaft,                7 

To  the  Iron-Works,          6 

To  Chefter,                        9 

To  Sufquahanna  Ferry,    3 

To  Namans  Creek,           5 

To  Gunpowder  Ferry    25 

To  Brandy  Wine  Ferry,    9 

To    Tatapfco  Ferry,       20 

ToCrifteena  Feryr,           1 

To  City  of  Annapolis,     30 

To  NewCaftle                   5 

In  all  144  Miles, 

To  Elk  River,                   17 

*Pofts  change  the  Males 

INDEX. 


Albany,  22,  58. 
Almanac,  Bradford's,  76. 
Amusements,  61. 
Architecture,  Dutch,  47  ;  Eng- 
lish, 47. 

Baptist  Church,  89. 

Bayard  (Samuel)  Sugar-House, 

95- 
Book,  the  first  printed  in  New 

York,  76. 
Bogardus,  Domine,  78. 
Boel,  Rev.  Henricus,  69. 
Boston,  38. 

Bowling  Green,  37,  38. 
Bradford,  William,  19,  63,  77. 
Bradford  Map,  19,  20,  27,  73  ; 

Copies   of,   74. 
Bridge  Street,  34. 
Broad  Street,  34. 
Broadway,  28,  35. 
British  troops,  85. 
Burial-plot,  the  first,  80. 
Burgis,  William,  20,  87. 
Burger's  Path,  31. 

Castle   William,  Boston   Har- 
bor, 21. 
Cats,  Jakob,  78. 


Cedar  Street,  31. 

Census  of  1731,  28. 

City,  cleaning,  53;  lighting, 
55  ;  revenues  and  expenses, 
58 ;  watchmen,  54. 

City  Hall,  Wall  Street,  90  ;  in 
the  Park,  95. 

Clap,  John,  42. 

Cliff  Street,  32. 

Coaches,  private,  41  ;  hack- 
ney, 42 ;  stage,  39,  40. 

Columbian  Magazine,  91. 

Collect  Pond  (Fresh  Water), 
41,  43,  45,  52;  outlet  of, 
44;  fish  in,  44. 

Collegiate  Church,  69,  83. 

Commerce  of  New  York  in 
1731,  48,  51. 

Concerts,  61 ,  62. 

Congress  of  the  Federal  Legis- 
lature, 91. 

Cro'  Nest,  49. 

Custom-House,  93. 

De  Lancey,  Etienne,  46. 
De  Peyster,  Abraham,  86. 
De  Ronde,  Domine,  83. 
De  Vries,  Captain,  78. 
De  Witt,  Dr.,  86. 


ui 


Index 


Docks,  48. 

Dongan  (Gov.)  House,  34. 

"Down  East,"  49. 

Dress,  65,  67. 

Dubois,  Domine,  69. 

Dutch  festivals,  60. 

Dutch  Church,  duty  of  clerk, 

68;  lengthof  sermon  in,  69; 

language,  60. 
Dutch  West  India  Co.,  23. 
Dutch  weight,  25. 
Duyckinck,  Gerardus,  21,  82 ; 

his  map  of  1755,  21. 

Edwards,  Jonathan,  89. 
English  holidays,  60. 
Exchange  Place,  33. 
Exchange  in  Broad  Street,  95. 

Federal  Edifice,  91. 
Fire  Department  organized,  55. 
Fire-engines  first  imported,  55. 
First  church  on  Manhattan  Is- 
land, 31. 
Fifth  Avenue,  28. 
Fletcher,  Governor,  76. 
Fort  George,  46. 
Fort  Nassau  near  Albany,  22. 
Fort  Nieuw  Amsterdam,  20. 
Fraunces  Tavern,  7 1 . 
Fulton  Street,  32. 
Fur  trade,  25. 

Garden  Street  Church,  46,  77, 
80. 


Golden  Hill,  32,  42. 
Government  House,  93. 
Governor's  House  in  the  Fort, 
78. 

Hallett,  James,  coach-builder, 

41. 
Harlem  River,  41. 
Harpending,  John,  31. 
Hell  Gate,  49. 
Holland,  51. 

Hudson,  Hendrick,  22,  24. 
Hudson  River,  29,  48,  49. 
Hudson  River  sloops,  30. 
Huguenots,  84 

Indians,  23,  51. 

Irving,  Washington,  25,  45. 

Jews'  Synagogue,  89. 

Kalm,  Professor,  97. 
Kent,  Chancellor,  105. 
Kieft,  Governor,  77,  79. 
Kingsbridge  Road,  38,  41. 
King's   Chapel    in    the    Fort, 

77- 
King's  Farm,  29. 
Kissing  Bridges,  44. 
Knickerbocker,  loi. 
Knox,  Dr.  John,  86. 

Laidlie,  Dr.,  83. 
Leisler,  Jacob,  37, 
L'Enfant,  Major,  91. 


112 


Index 


Liberty  Street,  43. 
Library,  first  public,  62. 
Lispenard's  Meadows,  44. 
Livingston,  Dr.  Jolin  H.,  86. 
Livingston,  Edward,  94. 
London,  51. 
Love  Lane,  32. 

Lurting,  CoL  Robt.,  Mayor,  76. 
Lutheran  Church,  89. 
Lyne,  James,  19,  6^,  97. 

McComb,  John,  94. 

Maiden  Lane,  32. 

Middle,  or  New,  Dutch  Church, 

20,  21,  46,  85. 
Manhattan,  24. 
Market-places,  95, 
Matthews,  Dr.,  83. 
Merchantsof  N.  Y.  in  1731,  58. 
Michaelius,  Domine,  78. 
Millington,  Dr.,  63. 
Minuit,   Governor   Peter,   23, 

24,   103. 
Montgomerie,  Governor  John, 

dress,  etc.,  64;  sale  of  his 

effects,  66. 
Morris,  Geo.  P.,  102. 
Mutual  Life  Insurance  Co.,  87. 

Nassau  Street,  32,  43. 
Negro  executions,  37,  53. 
Negro  Plot,  37,  53. 
New  Rochelle,  85. 
New  York  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce, 87. 

15  118 


New  York  Gazette,  5 1 ,  62,  76, 

82. 
New  York   Historical  Society, 

X,    77- 
New  York  Mirror,  102. 

Oysters,  50. 

Old  Wind-Mill  Lane,  29. 

Park,  the,  35,  39. 
Parker,  James,  77. 
Pearl  Street,  29,  30. 
Philadelphia,  28,  39,  98. 
Philipse,  Frederick,  67. 
Philipse,  Madame,  67. 
Pintard,  John,  19. 
Port  of  New  York,  48. 
Post-office,  87. 
Postal  facilities,  38. 
Presbyterian    Meeting    House, 
89. 

Quaker  Meeting  House,  89. 

Rapelye,  Sarah,  84. 

Real    estate,    values    of,    56 ; 

sales  of,  57. 
Religious  services  first  held,  3 1 . 
Reproductions  of  the  Map,  74. 
Rip  Van  Dam,  42,  88. 
Ritzema,  Domine,  83. 

Sharpe,  Rev.  John,  6^. 

Shops,  58. 

Slaves,  laws  relating  to,  52. 


Index 


Smallpox,  epidemic  of,  in 
1731,  6^. 

Smith,  G.  B.,  Street  Com- 
missioner, 74. 

Smith,  WiHiam,  Chief  Justice, 
51,  62,  64. 

Smith,  Colonel,  Governor  of 
Tangiers,  41 . 

Stadthuys,  90. 

St.  Nicholas,  102. 

Schools,  62. 

St.  Paul's  Church,  79. 

Streets  paved,  53. 

Sunday  laws,  68. 

Tappan  Zee,  49. 
Tea-drinking,  52. 
Tea-water  pump,  44. 


Temple  du  St.  Esprit,  46,  84. 
Tombs,  the,  45. 
Trent,  George,  20. 
Trinity  Church,  29,  46,  79. 
Tryon,  Governor,  63. 

Vesey,  Rev.  William,  80. 
Vigne, Jean,  84. 
Virginia,  50. 

Wall  Street,  33. 
Wampum,  50. 
Wards  of  the  city,  74. 
Washington,    92 ;    Statue  of, 

93- 
West  Indies,  50. 

Whitehall  Street,  34. 

William  Street,  31. 


114 


CORRECTIONS. 


Page  21,  line  28.  For  "only  copy"  read  "only  perfect  copy." 
An  imperfect  copy  is  in  the  possession  of  Trinity  Church. 

Page  32,  line  19.  For  "  t'Maadge  Paatge"  read  "t'Maagde 
Paatje." 


lis 


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